


Two Unsespecting Hearts

by VenomGlacier



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: AU, Abuse, Addiction, Alternate Universe, Angst, Boarding School, Cheryl is in denial, Cheryl struggles, Cheryl's POV, Clifford is dead as well, Closeted Character, Drug Abuse, Drugs, Eating Disorder, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/F, First Time, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Internalized Homophobia, Jason was killed, Lesbians, Prescription Drugs, Romance, Roommates, Slow Burn, Smut, Soft Toni, Takes place in mid season 2, Tension, The world is cruel and nobody cares about Cheryl, There is no Black Hood or Gargoyle King shit, Toni's POV, benzodiazepines, choni, jason is dead, penelope is a bitch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2019-10-08 20:14:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 65,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17392982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VenomGlacier/pseuds/VenomGlacier
Summary: As if the world hasn't been cruel enough to Cheryl, she is now forced to share her dorm room with that filthy Serpent Toni Topaz.The only thing that keeps her from breaking down, is the little pills Reggie regularly hooks her up with.ORslightly AU. This takes place around 2x10 when the Serpents are transferred to Riverdale High Boarding School. To cope with her brother's death, her nightmares and all the pressure she's under, Cheryl started taking pills and by now developed an addiction.





	1. The Transfer

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there, Thanks for giving this fic a try.  
> I decided to let this take place around midseason 2, when the Serpents transfer to Riverdale High and ignore the Black Hood, Gargoyle King and weird Chic storyline to just focus on Cheryl and Toni.  
> And since my favourite couple didn't get enough screen time or backstory, they are now forced to share room ((:  
> Bear with me & enjoy :)

 

"Top of the morning, Waldo!"

Cheryl happily declared her entrance as she swung the doors to Principal Weatherbee's office open, not bothering to knock beforehand.

"You wanted to see me?"

It was Monday morning 7 AM. Cheryl, of course, had been awake for two hours and already finished her daily morning beauty routine, when Mrs. Darson came by and told her to report to the Principal's office.

The headmaster had jerked slightly upon his student's unannounced entrance and sighed,  
  
"It's still Principal Weatherbee for you and yes, please have a seat.“  
He gestured towards a chair by his desk.

"So..," Cheryl began, strutting towards the chair and gracefully sitting down, "May I ask what this is about?"

"As you may have heard already, miss Blossom, in light of...," he hesitated, ". _.recent events_ , Southside High was raided by the police and is currently under investigation."

Of Course, Cheryl had heard. Being Riverdale's Number One Gossip & It-Girl had its perks and so she was one of the first to hear about the rightful downfall of the drug and crime ridden eyesore that called itself _Soutshide High School_ and since she had tweeted about it last Friday, it was on everyone's lips by now. _Oops._

It came as no surprise that one of the teachers turned out to be some major drug lord, considering how the Southside along with its gangs of barbarians have brought nothing but problems, crime and violence ever since Riverdale was founded, and now the whole school was under investigation.

  
"I heard," Cheryl confirmed briefly, confused what this had to her with her.

Weatherbee eyed her through his round glasses, carefully contemplating his next words.

"As things presently stand, Southside High will be shut down for good, since the school was a melting pot for criminals and drugs and the authorities failed to remain in charge of the situation. In order to prevent such thing from happening again, the City Council decided to divide Southside's students between the remaining public schools in the area," he explained slowly.

"Oookay," Cheryl nodded as she took in his words, hoping this didn't lead where she thought it would. "Where are you driving at?"

"Meaning, some former Southside students will be transferred here and will from now on be attending Riverdale High Boarding School. Effective immediately. As Student Body President of RHBS, i expect you to welcome these students with open arms and mind."

The redhead chuckled humourlessly. He had to be joking.  
Either that or her mind was playing some cruel trick.

"I beg your pardon, Principal? I thought I just heard you say you're about to take in some of these.. _Southsiders_ into our school," she spat the word Southisders like it was something dirty she didn't want to take into her mouth. Which, quite frankly, it was.

Weatherbee inhaled sharply and pressed the bridge of his, obviously annoyed already by this conversation.

"You heard that correctly, miss Blossom. We're expecting 17 new students from the Southside today and I expect you to prepare a _warm_ welcoming for these new arrivals."

Oh, so he really was serious? He was allowing Riverdale High to be flooded with criminals and stand by and watch?

No, not on Cheryl's watch.

"Uhm, may I object, Principal?" Without awaiting an actual response, she stood up and snarled,

"With all due respect, are you even aware of what you are about to let happen to your school? To _our_ school?"

She was fuming now, Weatherbee managed to ruin her good mood with this bullshit idea of his in no time.

"I know this is sudden and unexpected, but i hope this transition will run smoothly for both the Southside students' and _especially_ your sake, miss Blossom," he threatened tacitly.

Cheryl knew it was no use to contradict the Prinicipal, but she couldn't accept this. Someone had to talk some sense into the man.  
The Southsiders at Riverdale High? In what world would that work out peacefully?

So she stared disbelievingly at the headmaster, crossed her arms and shot back,  
"How is this supposed to work? Do you think these.. these _greasers_ will fit into our school, keep up in class or let alone behave?"

"Miss Blossom, i don't make the rules and neither do you," he rebuked her sharply.   
"The Mayor made her decision and that is final! The new students will arrive at 9 AM. End of discussion. You are dismissed," he nodded towards the door, ordering her to leave.

  
  


* * *

 

  
  


Great.

Terrific.

Absolutely amazing.

  
In just two hours her precious school would be infested with _Southside scum_.  
  
Cheryl stomped angrily back to her dorm as she pulled out her cellphone to text her Vixens and the Bulldogs.  
Weatherbee wanted her to prepare a warm welcoming for the thugs?

Alright then, that he would get.

 

 

* * *

 

  
  


  
  


"It's ti-hime!" Toni happily chanted as she jumped on Sweet Pea's bed to wake her still half-asleep friend.

To say that Ton was excited about the upcoming transfer to RHBS was an understatement. This would be the first time in almost six years that she would have her own bed, shower and three meals a day. The times of crashing at Fang's or Sweet Pea's trailer were finally over.

Sure, the sudden change of schools would entail certain disadvantages, like higher educational standards and strict house rules, not to mention the never ending war between the Northside and the Southside, but the pros clearly outweighed the cons and Toni couldn't be happier.

"Ugh.. already?" Sweet Pea groggily mumbled into his pillow "I haven't even finished packing."

"Okay, first your wardrobe is even smaller than mine so your packing should be done in like 15 minutes and second, we've talked about this, Pea." She gave him a stern look, but the boy just rolled his eyes and turned his head to the other side of the pillow.

"Dude, come on, this is our chance to make something out of our lives and go to a decent school. One that does have bathroom stall doors and teachers who aren't involved in drug dealing. How can you not want this?" She pleaded now.

Sweet Pea and the other Serpents weren't too keen about the transfer.   
After all, it was not only a change in schools but actually moving to the other side of town since Riverdale High was a public boarding school, but Toni along with Jughead tried her best to brighten the mood.

"Because, Tiny," Sweet Pea shot up in his bed, "We are talking about the Northside and its snobs."

"Pea, come on, don't do this now. It's no use. And you know i hate the Northside as much as you do, but this is our chance to prove them wrong. We can show them that we are so much more than just a gang on motorcycles and finally get the respect we deserve."

"You don't seriously believe that?" He scoffed, "Toni, if you're thinking that the Northsiders will accept us and this will run smoothly you need a serious reality check." He started to become contentious.  
"Northside has been dumping on us for years and you know it damn well. They are the reason Southside High was shut down in the first place. 'toxic fumes'? 'safety reasons'? My ass."

 _God, Sweet Pea and his temper_.  
Toni knew he didn't mean what he said and he would calm again within a minute but nevertheless she would not let his bad mood and bickering ruin her good morning.  
  
"I know you're pissed, but let's just try to make the most of it, okay? This is gonna be good for us, you'll see. Now get ready and finish packing. We're leaving in an hour,"  
she asserted as she got up from his bed and walked towards the door, not giving him a chance to object but instead signalling that this conversation was over.

Sweet Pea groaned in defeat and let himself fall back on the bed again.   
He knew better than to pick a fight with a Toni, that was a battle he was destined to lose.

"Whatever you say, Topaz."

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

  
  


"Friends!"  
The raven haired girl chimed when she saw the Serpents enter the halls of Riverdale High.  
Toni recogniced her as Veronica, one of Jughead's friends.   
Since he was in a relationship with Betty, the epitome of the Northside, some of the Serpents have already come in contact with a few Northsiders.

  
"On behalf of the students and the faculty here at Riverdale High: Welcome to your new school," she announced a little too excited for Toni's liking.  
  
"To ease this transition, i've set up a registration desk where you can get your locker assignments, class schedules and a list of sports and extracurriculars."

Okay, this was _a little_ over the top, but still, Toni appreciated the gesture and the effort Veronica obviously had put into this.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all and they would all get along just fine.

 

"Stand down, Eva Perón!"

A powerful voice suddenly pierced the hallway and Toni's head perked up to see where it came from.

A gorgeous redheaded girl – no, scratch that, a _goddess -_ strutted down the stairway, followed by a flock of boys in letterman jackets and girls in cheerleading uniforms and pointedly made her way towards the group of newcomers.

Toni could with certainty say that she never had laid her eyes on someone so gorgeous.  
he red dress she was wearing hugged her figure perfectly and complemented her fiery hair that bounced around her shoulders with every step she made.

Something in the way she walked was so authoritarian and dominant, Toni only took her eyes off her when she heard Veronica sigh,  
"Cheryl," (Toni had to remember that name) "No one invited Fascist Barbie to the party."  
  
 _Oh, the Lodge girl had bite._ This was gonna be good.

"Wrong, Veronica." The redhead came to a halt, crossed her arms and spat back, "No one invited Southside scum to our school!"  
  
"Listen up, ragamuffins," she now turned towards the Serpents,   
"I will not allow Riverdale High's above average GPA to suffer because of classrooms that are overcrowded.." she made a pause to throw a contemptuous look at the gang, "..with _underachievers_."  
The herd of jocks and cheerleaders laughed and Toni watched in disbelief as the girl continued her tirade.  
"So, please, do us all a favour and find some other school to debase with your... hardscrabble ways!"

Was she being serious?

It hasn't even been two minutes since they set foot into this school, and here she was, _Cheryl-whatever-her-name-was_ , the pinnacle of the Northside already trashing and threatening Toni and her friends in front of the whole school.

Admittedly, she was stunning, yes, but obnoxiously arrogant nonetheless and quite frankly delusionary if she thought she could get away with this pathetic attempt of scaring them off.   
The Serpents were here now and they weren't going anywhere, that was for sure.

So, Toni stepped forwards towards the girl and growled,

"Why don't you come over here and say that to my face?"

Cheryl eyed her scorningly for a moment before stepping towards her as well.

They were now standing in front of each other merely a few inches apart. Even though the Cheerleader was only four or five centimeters taller than her, Toni felt like the girl towered over her.  
  
"Happily, Queen of the Buskers." She gave her a challenging look as she stared down on her.   
  
Cheryl was standing so close to her now, that Toni could smell her perfume.  
  
"I am more than happy to repeat myself," she slowly began with an artificial smile.

"You and your kind are not welcome here. So i'd suggest you low-lifes head back to your trailer park and continue selling drugs and live off welfare."

Besides the scattered gasp that went through the crowd, the hallway had now fallen completely silent, the students around them watching curiously as the tension between the two groups seemed to increase with every minute.

"Now listen carefully, princess," Toni was trying her hardest to contain her rage. No one dared to talk to her like this and she didn't want to get into trouble on her first day for punching a spoilt Northsider.  
  
"First of all, you don't know shit about us, so why don't you cut the wannabe-elitist crap and second, you're one to talk, acting all high and mighty when everybody knows you _oh-so-clean-handed_ Northsiders buy and take all the drugs from the Southside."

The Cheerleader looked surprised for a moment, opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off by Veronica promptly stepping between the two girls.  
  
"I'm so sick of this ridiculous Northside-Southside feud. Can't we just let the past be the past and put this behind us? A fresh start?"

"Last time i checked," Cheryl viciously glanced at Toni one last time before addressing the raven haired girl, "it wasn't you who was student body president, but _moi_ , hence i make the rules and i do not want RHBS infested with lice and parasites."  
  


"What did you just say?" Sweet Pea growled now, stepping out of the group towards an unfazed Cheryl.

"Back off, Snake!" One of the jocks stepped in front of Cheryl, pushing Sweet Pea forcefully backwards.

A whispering and shocked gasping went through the onlookers as he stumbled backwards and was caught by Fangs.

"Don't you fucking touch me!" The Serpent hissed furiously as he raised his hands to push the Bulldog back, but Toni and Jughead were quick to intervene and grabbed him by his arms.  
  
"Sweets, leave it! He's not worth it or do you want detention on your first day?"  
  
Toni tried to calm him down, knowing that Sweet Pea loved a good fight and judging by the way the football player laughed in his face as he tried to shake Toni and Jug off, he was not far from battering the jock's face.

Not that Toni wouldn't like to see that, along with Cheryl getting her fair share, but mainly she didn't want to reinforce the negative stereotypes that surrounded the Serpents.

"See how violent they are?"   
Cheryl smugly addressed the crowd, causing Toni to fume even more.

 _The audacity._ Toni now had to suppress the urge to walk over there and slap the girl senseless.

 

"That's enough!"

  
A stern voice interrupted the wrangling and Toni turned her head to see Principal Weatherbee marching towards the scene.  
  
"Everybody get to class. Now!"

His authority seemed to take effect, as nobody dared to oppose or object and the crowd slowly started to disperse, the students wandering off in different directions.  
  
Toni was thankful for the interruption, knowing damn well how quickly this situation could have escalated and the last thing the Serpents needed today was any more negative attention putting them in a bad light.  
She picked up the bag with her belongings and gathered her things to follow the Serpents outside, when the headmaster suddenly barred her way, giving her a grim look.

  
"You and Miss Blossom will be accompanying me to my office."

  
  


  
  


* * *

 

  
  


  
  


"With all due respect, Principal Weatherbee," Cheryl started to explain herself indignantly,  
"I'm not the one to blame here."

After the headteacher had ordered Toni and Cheryl into his office, he closed the door behind them, demanding an explanation for the outburst in the hallway.

"If it wasn't for these violent gang members, this whole situation could have been avoided. I was just about to greet and welcome them to our school, when _little Miss Gypsy_ here.." she darted a despising glance at the Serpent, "felt the need to start trouble."

This girl was unbelievable.

"God, could you be more any more transparent?" Toni huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Do you think _I_ wanted to cause trouble on my first day of school?"

"Enough now!"  
Weatherbee loudly slammed his palm on his desk, causing both girls to wince.  
  
"From what I saw, both of you were acting up and are to be held responsible. I'm particularly disappointed in you, miss Blossom, since I specifically told you to welcome these new students with open arms and you acted against my instructions. So from now on your privilege of having a dorm room to yourself is being revoked and you will be sharing it with miss...?" he looked promptingly at Toni, waiting for her to answer.

"Topaz, sir... Toni Topaz."

Cheryl's jaw slacked open as she tried to process what the headmaster just said to her.   
"I beg your pardon?"

Toni wasn't exactly fond of the idea of sharing a bedroom with the devil incarnated either, but the Vixen's obvious disapproval kinda stung. She didn't even know her and judged her solely based on the fact that she was from the Southside.

"You heard me, miss Blossom. As you know we have a zero tolerance policy towards bullying and rebelling. You can consider yourself lucky, i'm not depriving you of your role as student body president. I believe you will be showing miss Topaz around?"

He looked challengingly at the Head Vixen, daring her to speak up again, but she knew better, kept quiet and nodded reluctantly.

"Good. You are now dismissed."

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 _Ugh._ As if this day couldn't get any worse, Cheryl was now forced to share _her_ bedroom with this hoodlum. Unbelievable.  
She had worked so hard for privilege of her single bedroom since it took a 4.0 GPA, a gapless class attendance and a ton of persuasion to get Weatherbee to let her have a single room.   
Since then, she had always smugly looked down on the other students sharing double or triple dorm rooms whereas she, the HBIC of Riverdale High, had a room to herself. As provided in the natural hierarchy.

That was of course until these Hooligans came along and now this Serpent girl was supposed to move in _her_ room? Cheryl was supposed to live with that girl? And for what? For merely voicing what everybody thought anyway; that criminals were not welcome here.  
  
  


Okay, maybe she took it the tiniest tad too far earlier, but she was not to blame. It was the Adderall that got her so pumped up, so technically she couldn't be held accountable for that.

And speaking of unjustified punishment, why the hell was she the only one being penalized? Reggie almost got into a fistfight with one of the Serpents.  
  
But whatever, as unfair as this punishment was, she knew there was no sense in contradicting Weatherbee, since he really would go as far as revoking her beloved presidential crown and she wasn't going to let him take that from her.   
Maybe if she played along for a few days, he would come to his senses and remove the parasite from her room and into someone else's.  
Then everything could go back to normal. Well, more or less.

 _God,_ how she craved something to ease her mind a little right now. All this Southside drama got her really worked and she could really use something to take the edge off.   
Where had she put her Ativan again? Was it in the drawer?

  
  


"So.." the Serpent's voice tore her from her thoughts.

"I think we caught each other on the wrong foot. So how about a clean slate?"  
She smiled warmly and stretched out her hand.

"Toni."

_Ohh, the mutt had manners._

 

"If you think i touch that, you must be delusional," she scoffed, looking disgustingly at Toni's hand.  
  
"Let's get this over with, shall we?"

Without further ado, she turned on her heel and walked towards the dorm, signalling the smaller girl to follow her.

"Nice to meet you too, Jane Doe," the brunette muttered as she jogged towards Cheryl trying to keep up with her pace.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

As they walked through the dorm section, Toni tried to make friendly conversation with Cheryl, but the redhead refused to acknowledge her, heading hastily towards a door at the end of the hallway.

"Wait here!," the Vixen barked, when they finally reached the door with the number 55 on it.  
She slipped into the room without another word and swiftly closed the door behind her, leaving a confused Toni stand in the hallway.

The biker still didn't know what to make of this situation or understood the other girl's unreasoned hatred towards her and the Serpents.  
It's not like she _chose_ to share her room with her, so why was she being so hostile?  
It really was a shame that someone so gorgeous, could have such a rotten personality.   
  
"Okay," Cheryl sighed excessively, swinging the door open.  
"If you _must,_ you can come in now, just make sure to not bring any fleas with you."   
She flashed her a cold smile.

 _Oh, charming_.  
Toni rolled her eyes, deciding to ignore the insult for the sake of peace as she entered the spacious room.   
  
She felt her eyes widen involuntarily at the sight of the large room she would be living in from now on.   
It was enormous.  
Well, probably average in size, but for Toni's standards huge and luxurious as the dorm alone was probably bigger than Fang's whole trailer.

There were two full-sized beds one in the left, the other one in the right corner, separated by a desk in the middle.  
Above the desk was a giant window allowing Toni to look outside at the school's well-kempt campus and football field. On the left side was an enormous white closet, on the right side a second desk right next to another closed door.

Cheryl followed Toni's gaze.   
"That's the bathroom," she explained coldly.

Without asking for permission, the Serpent opened the door to take in the sight of the equally aesthetic bathroom. She gazed in awe at the shower, the toilet and the wide double sink before letting her bags drop to the floor and speeding towards the basin, eagerly turning on the warm water and letting it run over her hands.  
_Amazing_.  
As someone who grew up without a home let alone a shower with warm water, Toni couldn't believe she got to live here now.

Cheryl's patronising laughter brought her back to reality.   
"Did you grow up in a kennel?"

"Well, believe it or not, barbie, but not everybody grew up with a silver spoon in their mouth," she turned to face her.  
It was one thing that she didn't like to share her room with somebody else, but the constant offences and down-talking were beginning to bother Toni.

"I'm less than happy to share a room with you either, but we have to make it work _somehow_. So i'd suggest you quit the _cold-and-untouchable-bitch_ act and start being a little more friendly," she slowly approached the Cheerleader standing in the doorway, "I'm not intimidated by you, _Cheryl_ ," she spat her name.  
"Remember? I'm in a gang. I've dealt with worse than preppy brats like you."

That seemed to catch the redhead off guard for a moment before she straightened her back and rolled her eyes.  
  
"Whatev'." She turned around, picked up her backpack off the floor and made her way towards the door.  
"Make yourself comfortable.. just try not to steal anything," she added with a smirk as she strutted away.


	2. The Dispute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cheryl wants to show the newcomer who's in charge.  
> Toni is not having any of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my loves,  
> Sorry this update took so long, i'm a little stressed out due to my upcoming finals.  
> But yeah (:  
> Hope you enjoy  
> Tell me the direction you want this to go.

Cheryl stomped towards the girl's restroom in the west wing, parting a group of freshmen standing in the hallway.

That girl had some nerve to talk back to her like that. After all, she was Riverdale High's HBIC, the Queen Bee who was both feared and admired and didn't take shit from no one. And then this Serpent girl shows up out of nowhere and dares to stand up to her and put her in her place?

It hasn't even been one hour and Cheryl utterly loathed that girl already. Her attitude, her big mouth, her awfully pretty face and the confidence she seemed to have, she just hated everything about her.

"Stupid Serpent scum," she muttered under her breath as she entered the empty bathroom and took off her backpack, impatiently searching for her pillbox.

"Ahh, yes!"  
Her mood instantly brightened when she fished it out off her bag, opened it and popped a longish, white tablet into her mouth, swallowing it with a sip of water.  
Exactly what she needed right now.

Luckily she had managed to get rid off every trace of her pills and hid them in her backpack before Toni entered her room. The last thing she needed was for the Serpent to get noisy and start asking questions.

Whilst waiting for the Xanax to show its effect, Cheryl took out her phone to scroll through her Instagram, hoping it would take her mind off things, but she found her thoughts quickly drifting back to the tanned Serpent.

There was only thing the HBIC hated more than not getting what she wanted and that was not being submitted to. She already had to endure her parent's constant abuse her whole life, defenceless and unable to stand up to them, so naturally she liked having control over people, putting them down below her where they belonged.  
She needed it to feel better about herself. She craved it like a drug.

After Jason's death two years ago and everything terrible following, she found her power back at RHBS. It was the only place she had complete control and power over. The way her classmates went out of her way or the Vixens winced at the harsh sound of her voice was _intoxicating_. It made her feel superior.  
Perhaps it was an unusual way of coping, but it made her feel better and by now Cheryl was dependant on it.

  
That was, of course, until that prole waltzed into her territory and had to defy her, desperately trying to prove herself.

  
If she thought Cheryl would be giving up without a fight, she heavily underestimated her.  
No, Cheryl was not done with her, not by a long chalk..  


 

-

 

Toni had already noticed that her new roommate was tidy when she entered the room, but upon further inspection it turned out that she was meticulous;

Almost all of her stuff was tucked away in the drawer, the closet or the cabinet in the bathroom and there wasn't a single spot or a layer of dust anywhere.  
If it wasn't for the glasses, a book and a bottle of water on the small nightstand, it looked like nobody was living here.

Sure, the room was cozy and spacious, but at the same time it seemed cold and sterile, lacking anything personal and emotional from Cheryl and the Serpent couldn't help but wonder why the redhead wouldn't at least hang some pictures of friends or family up, but then again from what she had seen so far, the girl didn't appear to be the cordial-friend-type.

She walked towards the nightstand to take a closer look at the book the other girl was apparently reading and chuckled lightly when she read the cover.

 _A Tale of Two Cities_ by Charles Dickens. One of her favourites. Who would have thought the Queen of ice had a thing for tragic love stories?  
She placed the novel carefully back on the nightstand, cautious not to draw Cheryl's wrath towards her for touching her stuff.

After discarding her bag on the floor, Toni started to make herself comfortable and unpacked the few things she called her own, hanging the scanty set of clothes neatly next to Cheryl's sumptuous wardrobe in the closet, her school supplies along with her beloved camera on the desk and a few photos of her friends and one with her parents on her nightstand.

It was the only photo she had of them before her father died and her mother abandoned her so many years ago.  
Chuckling sadly, she gently stroke over the photo with her thumb. Even though she hated her parents for leaving her alone, she couldn't help but miss them sometimes.  
God knows what terrible things she would have been spared of, if she had grown up in a safe home and with a loving family taking care of her...

The sudden notification tone of her phone broke her from her trance informing her about new messages. She unlocked it and opened the Serpent's group chat to see what the news were. Jughead had spammed the chat, excitedly telling them that they had the day off today to "get settled into their new homes" and now he wanted them all to meet for lunch in half an hour.

 

-

 

 

After getting lost and straying around aimlessly in search of the mensa, Toni was the last to arrive at the Serpent table for lunch.  
Fangs, Sweet Pea and Jughead were almost finished with their meals, chattering lively.

"Move it, Jones!," she impatiently tapped Jughead on the shoulder, gesturing for him to make room.

"Toni," he smiled upon seeing her as she sat down with a groan.

"Sup, guys," she nodded towards Fangs and Sweet Pea: "How's your first day going so far?"

"Well," Sweet Pea rolled his eyes, "I guess it could have been worse, but it still sucks. I have to share my room with some four-eyed freak named Dilton. Guy is so scared of me, he hasn't said a word yet," he laughed nastily, high-fiving Fangs, "And my room's next to his, meaning we are so gonna sneak out at night."

"Hell yeah, we are," Fangs nudged him approvingly, "My roommate's some guy called Kevin. He's.. okay, i guess. We actually have a lot in common... so yeah. What about you tho? What took you so long anyway?"

"Well," she inhaled sharply. "Let's just say, my roommate had no interest in giving me a tour and this place is just huge.. i mean seriously even the halls of Hogwarts are more structured."

Jughead chuckled, "I can show you around after lunch if you want to. Who is your roommate? Maybe i know her."

"Her name is Cheryl and i swear she is the devil incarnated." She noticed Jughead choking a bit on his burger at the mention of her name.

"Cheryl Blossom? My condolences. I'm surprised she hasn't already ripped your head off."

Toni quirked her eyebrow, giving her friend a questioning look, "That bad?"

She was familiar with the name Blossom. They were Riverdale's richest and most elitist family, having made a fortune with maple syrup, but that's all she really knew.

"Don't take it personal, Toni. This girl got some serious issues. She hates the Southside and the Serpents even more ever since her twin brother got killed two years ago."

 _Oh, that was news_. No wonder the redhead was acting up like this.

"Oh, damn. But what does her brother's death have to with us tho? Was he killed by a Serpent?"

"As far as i know, no. Apparently it was a robbery gone wrong, but they never caught the guy and Cheryl is convinced that it must have been a Serpent, but i doubt that. Something like that sounds like the Ghoulies," he turned towards his burger again.

Well, that put things into perspective. Toni couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl knowing damn well what it's like to lose a close family member.  
Of course, Cheryl assumed her brother's killer was a Serpent. They weren't exactly known for their friendliness and righteousness, but _killing a teenager?_ That couldn't have been a Serpent.

Noticing her hungry stomach growling, she firmly stood up and made her way through the dining hall towards the meal counter.

Today's lunch was burgers with vegetables and Toni could already feel her mouth starting to water as she took a tray and watched the kitchen lady place the food on her plate.

"Thank you," she smiled gratefully and turned around, making her way towards the other side of the dining hall to her friends' table.  
Her eyes were focused on the burger in front of her as she passed by a row of tables, not paying any attention to the students sitting there, when she suddenly felt something pulling her foot away, causing her to lose her balance and tripping over.  
She fell face first onto the floor, the tray clickering loudly in front of her as all heads turned to see what had just happened.

Equally confused, Toni lay prone on the ground, looking sadly on the remains of her lunch spread over the cafeteria floor, when she heard a high-pitched giggle coming from the table behind her,

"My my, careful there, Serpent. We don't want you to get hurt on your first day."

 _Cheryl_. Of Course. She tripped her leg as Toni passed by her table.

"Hilarious, Blossom," Toni got up as gracefully as possible after that embarrassing fall, suppressing the urge to rub her aching elbow.  
"Tripping other people like we're still in kindergarten. How mature."  
She flashed her a cold smile, aware that all eyes in the cafeteria were on them now.

"Just a friendly reminder that parasites like you and your gang of miscreants are to be treated as such," the cheerleader laughed along with the rest of the Vixens at the table, as she rose from her seat.

"Crawl back to your cave, monkey," she blew her a kiss, turned on her heel and made her way towards the exit.

 _Fucking bitch._ Sure, her brother died and everything and the girl was probably not in a good place right now, but that didn't give her the right to physically hurt other people without reason.  
As much as Toni sympathised with the girl, she wasn't going to let her humiliate her in front of her new school and get away with it.

Two people could play this game, so she picked up the tray off the ground and hurled it skilfully at the leaving redhead, aiming for her feet.  
The tray flew swiftly towards her legs, landing on the ground a few feet behind her and slid between Cheryl's feet.  
The unsuspecting girl accidentally stepped on the sliding tray beneath her, causing her foot to jerkily slip forward.

The whole cafeteria went quiet as Cheryl stumbled and fell down on her back with a loud thump, the only audible sounds now being a few shocked gasps and the head Vixen's pained groan.

Toni didn't expect the other girl to actually fall and get hurt and immediately regretted her decision to throw the tray, knowing she had now pissed off the redhead completely and made the situation much worse.

Cheryl was quickly back to her feet and turned around to fixate Toni with a furious gaze, her dark eyes full of hate and rage.

"You bitch!," she cried, racing towards the Serpents and shoving her forcefully backwards.

Toni stumbled a few feet backwards, but managed to stay upright. The cheerleader was stronger than she thought.

She made a move towards Cheryl, unsure of what to do since she didn't want to hurt her any more, but still wanted to defend herself.

Taking advantage of Toni's hesitation, Cheryl grabbed a pink strand and pulled her by her hair, eliciting a painful outcry from the Serpent.

Toni, now just as furious, grabbed her by her arm and her collar, trying to shake her off.

Not noticing the circle of students forming around them, eager to witness their catfight, the two girls now pushed and pulled each other back and forth, neither of them willing to let go.

Toni was fed up now, gripped Cheryl's wrist and twisted it heftily, forcing her to let go of her hair with a sharp whimper.

The redhead writhed with pain, massaging her injured wrist for a moment, only to swing her other hand back going for a slap.

Toni blocked the punch, grabbing Cheryl's wrist mere inches in front of her face and and holding it tightly.

"You better drop this now," she warned her.

"Bite me, Cha-Cha," Cheryl hissed back.

  
"What is going on here?," the janitor, Mr. Russell, pushed his way through the crowd, eyeing the two girls indignantly, Toni still holding Cheryl firmly by her wrist.

"You and you," he pointed at the Serpent and the Cheerleader, "are coming with me. Now!"

 

 

-

 

 

"What the hell was that about?", the janitor demanded after he lead the two girls towards the empty football field.

The older man reeked of cigarettes and cheap booze and Cheryl suppressed wrinkling her nose at the smell of his breath.

"Got yourselves in a pretty little catfight, huh?," he flashed them a nasty grin, showing his yellow teeth.

Cheryl knew she could get in serious trouble once Principal Weatherbee found out about this and judging by his reaction earlier she didn't want to risk that.

"It was nothing actually," the Serpent began, "We had a little fight and overacted. Nothing too serious and it won't happen again."

"Well, that didn't look 'not serious' to me," he skeptically eyed the girl, "Anyway, ya know i gotta report this to Weatherbee, right?"

"Mr. Russell, is this _really_ necessary?," Cheryl stepped in.  
"Can't you just forget this, please? Just this one time?," she begged, fluttering her eyelashes and giving him a charming smile.  
Everybody knew the guy was a bit of a creep who got caught staring at the girls one too many times and the Vixen knew exactly how to win him over.

"You wouldn't tell Weatherbee, would you?"

The old man leaned smugly against the bleachers, crossed his arms and thought for a minute.

"Tell you what," he huffed, "This little _argument_ of yours stays between us..." Cheryl and Toni exhaled in relief. "..but you're gonna help me with some of the chores around the campus. There's a lot of work to do and it ain't good for my back."

The two girls threw each other a disapproving glance before Toni spoke up,

"So you want _us_ to do _your_ job? That's basically child labor."

Cheryl shot her a warning glance, silently telling her to shut up.

"Well," he clicked his tongue, "Either that or we're going straight to the principal. Your call to make."

"What kind of work exactly, when and how long?," Cheryl asked annoyed.

"Oh, not much. Let's say about three hours a day for the rest of the week and only light work of course; some gardening and cleaning and stuff like that. So... you in?"

"Fine, whatever," Cheryl huffed.

"Great," he got up and turned to leave, "See ya tomorrow at 5."

 

 

-

 

 

This girl was seriously hard to get rid of.

Not only did she have to share a room, go to class with her, NO, now she had to do chores with her?

That meant she would be around Toni fucking Topaz 24/7 for the whole week.  
How was she even supposed to manage that anyway? Her time schedule was already filled with school, Vixen practices, studying and _pardon her_ , if she still wanted to maintain a healthy social life.

After she had wordlessly left Toni stand on the football field, she headed towards the student lounge, hoping for some kind of distraction from the so far ever-present pink-haired Serpent.

_God._

It wasn't even 2 am and she was already exhausted.  
Having spotted Midge and Reggie sitting on the couch, she plumped down next to them with a sigh.

"Heey," Reggie turned to face her with a shit-eating grin.

"There's our Amazone. Didn't know kitty had claws."

"Save it, Reggie," she spat, "I'm really not in the mood."

"No wonder, judging by how the Serpent nearly whipped your ass. Not the brightest idea to bully a gang member, huh? Not that i'm complaining, your little catfight surely was _hot_."

Cheryl made a grimace, deciding to ignore Reggie's obnoxious comment.

"The hobo had it coming. She's been getting on my nerves since they arrived here and that was less than five hours ago. And to top it all, Mr. Russell makes us do his chores for him as some kind of _pedagogical lesson_."

"Ohh, you and that Topaz chick all worked up and sweaty, hm? I would love to see that girl washing my car or something," he added with a smug grin.

"Objectify much, Mantle?," Cheryl threw him an indignant look.

"What?," he laughed, "You gotta admit, the girl is smoking hot."

Midge rammed her elbow into his side. "Ouch, okay. She's _pretty_ , alright?"

Well, even though Cheryl wouldn't admit it, he actually was right. Toni may have been from the Southside and, to make matters worse a _Serpent_ , but she indeed was kind of pretty. Beautiful actually, and she would be lying to herself if she said otherwise. The girl had caught her eye the very first time she saw her and Cheryl found her thoughts drifting off to the Serpent one too many times. She felt a blush creep upon her cheeks at the thought of her kind brown eyes and that husky, slightly alluring tone in her voice and  _God, these lips..._

But she was still Cheryl Blossom, the Head Bitch In Charge. She didn't think about others that way, let alone a  _Serpent girl!_

After all, she had a reputation to maintain and gushing about another girl who was supposed to be her arch nemesis was a big no.

"Agree to disagree," she murmured, her voice coming out less spiteful than she intended to.

"Yeah?," Reggie raised his eyebrows, smirking mischievously, "Your blush says otherwise."

"Excuse you?," she snapped angrily, feeling caught,  
"Sorry to disappoint your perverted, misogynist fantasy, Reginald, but i'm merely hypoglycemic!"

Raising his hands in surrender, he chuckled, "Woah, someone's on edge."

He scanned the student lounge for other students, lowering his voice, "Need something to calm your nerves?"

Cheryl chewed on her lip, thinking for a moment. She _really_ could need something right now, but she had planned on taking it down a bit with the pills since she could already feel withdrawal symptoms when she went a few days without them.  
Initially she only took the Benzos, Reggie hooked her up with, to cope with her nightmares since Jason died, and planned on weaning them off after she would get better, but truth to be told.. she didn't get better and neither did her sleep let alone her nightmares or anxiety throughout the day.

So the pills were merely a.. _compensation_ for the pain she had to endure and the constant pressure she was under, and so it came she didn't take Atvian when she couldn't sleep or Adderall when she had an upcoming test, but more frequently and by now almost on a daily basis.

But on the other hand it's not like she was some kind of meth-junkie, she was completely in control and what harm could some more pills do?

She sighed. "What do you have in stock?"

 

 

-

 

 

After she was so kindly left alone on the football field, Cheryl obviously more than eager to not spend another minute with her, Toni watched her stomp off, taken aback by the other girl's behaviour.  
Admittedly, she wasn't intimidated by the Serpents as people normally are and she really stood up for her opinion, something Toni absolutely had a thing for, but she still was a brat.  
A gorgeous one, that was for sure, but in the end, she was nothing but a spoilt, impudent Northsider;

The epitome of everything Toni hated, someone who would always look down on her and never treat her with respect.

If she had wanted to, she could have broken her fucking wrist for that little stunt she pulled in the cafeteria and in hindsight she really should have.  
She had done it before without hesitation and remorse and the next time this bitch so much as lays a finger on her, she _will_ snap her wrist.

Toni let out a frustrated sigh as she kicked the grass and made her way towards the school building.  
Quite frankly, she couldn't hurt her and she low-key knew it. Sure, she could have kicked her ass earlier and she would have... if it had been anybody else.  
But.. there was something so fragile, almost _broken_ about her and as much as Toni wanted to hate, to _abhor_ her, she couldn't bring herself to it...

 _God, Toni, get it together_. She could already hear her friend's laughter about her soft spot for the redhead.

But she wouldn't let herself lose her cool just because of some overly provocative girl, No, Toni was better than that, so she took out her phone and called Jughead and the others, asking to meet up.

Thankful for the distraction and glad to avoid another confrontation with the redhead, Toni had spent the rest of the day with Jughead and Fangs in Jug's dorm playing cards and patiently listening to Fang's gushing about Kevin (They were so gonna be a thing).

The hours passed by and before she knew it, it was already 11pm and Toni decided to call it a night and go to bed.

Careful not to disturb her roommate, she tiptoed into the room, but Cheryl was already fast asleep and didn't seem to be woken up easily.

If only Toni could sleep like that, but instead she was still haunted by nightmares and insomnia...

But now was not the time to pity herself, she had to be prepared for tomorrow. After all, it was her first day of school, well, classes actually and if that hadn't been enough already she had to do these stupid chores with this stupid brat who got them into this mess in the first place.

_What a way to start the week._

Toni tucked herself under the massive, cozy blankets and slowly drifted off to sleep accompanied by Cheryl's light snoring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much for the first day :)
> 
> xx


	3. Tension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toni decides to stand up to Cheryl and tease her a little.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I'm super busy at the moment.  
> Hope you enjoy xx

It was exactly 5 AM when Cheryl's alarm went off, mercilessly ripping the two girls form their sleep.

"What the fuck, Cheryl? Turn that thing off," Toni sleepily groaned.

Cheryl got up, picked up her cell phone from her nightstand and tiredly dragged herself to the bathroom. She went to bed early yesterday, wanting to avert another encounter with Toni and was already in a comatose sleep when the Serpent entered their room.

Having a headache from yesterday's Atvian, she pulled an Aspirin out of her cosmetics bag, swallowed it spiritlessly and took a shower to get her circulation going.  
Completely lost in thought and enjoying the hot water running down her body, Cheryl spent almost 45 minutes in the shower, taking her sweet time for her hair and body care, not bothering to hurry up. The Serpent probably wouldn't want to shower anyway.

After she stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel, she opened her vanity case and pulled out her make-up, brushes and other utensils, laying it carefully next to the sink in front of her, when Toni suddenly barged in.

"Jesus," Cheryl gasped, whirling g around.

"Shit, sorry," the other girl mumbled, obviously still half-asleep.

"Didn't they teach you to knock on the Southside?" Cheryl barked, then inhaled in faux-realization and added with a patronising smile, "Ohh, that's right. You probably didn't have doors in your trailer."

 "Ha! Good one," Toni laughed humourlessly and returned the inclement smile.

"For real now, I'm sorry," her expression softened as she stepped a little closer.

"Didn't want to freak you out, just forgot we were roomies now," she added with a grin, looking Cheryl only covered by her towel up and down. Cheryl rolled her eyes, staring at her expectantly,

"And the reason for your disturbance is?"

"Oh, i figured there is no better way to start the morning right than to watch the iconic Cheryl Blossom do her hair," she bantered.  
"I wanted to take a shower, Einstein."

"Well, that has to wait. As you can see, i'm busy," the redhead turned around again, looking through the mirror at the biker crossing the bathroom towards her.

"What is all that stuff anyway?" Toni asked in confusion, skeptically eyeing the massive array of cosmetics.

"I am not surprised, that basic hygiene and cosmetics are foreign to you,"

she flashed her an artificial smile through the mirror, while continuing with her matutinal beauty ritual.

"You should try it some time, it really does wonders."

"Nah, i'm good, thanks," Toni replied nonchalantly as she turned around, making her way towards the door.

"I don't need a shit ton of make-up to conceal my lack of personality," she added airily before Cheryl could grab an eye shadow palette and angrily hurl it towards the Serpent who swiftly closed the door, causing the eye shadow to smash against it and clatter onto the floor.

"Out!"

Cheryl yelled over Toni's laughter, heftily slamming her brush on the sink.

 _God_ , this girl was really grating on her nerves. How could someone so small could have such a big mouth anyway?

If she was supposed to make it through the day without ripping Toni's head off, she really needed something to calm her down, so once again she reached for her cosmetics bag to look for her pill box.

 

-

 

Judging by her reaction, Toni decided she had bugged the redhead enough already this morning and chose to tone it down a little bit and evade their fights by ignoring Cheryl's comments.  
She had enough on her mind already after the transfer of schools and the seemingly unrealistic educational standards of RHBS. Toni knew that if she planned on graduating within the next five years, she had a lot of catching up to do, so she searched her backpack for the fancy, new textbooks she received yesterday and got to work.  
The communal breakfast was set for 8 am, giving Toni two hours to study and prepare for class. Hopefully it would keep her mind off a certain redhead as well...

 

-

 

When Cheryl exited the bathroom about an hour later, she seemed much more calmer and relaxed than before, not paying any attention to the Serpent as she walked towards the closet in search of today's outfit.  
Toni peeked over her calculus book, only to discover that Cheryl was dressed in nothing but red lacy underwear, walking around unabashed like that was a totally normal thing to do.

 _Fuck_.

Toni's mouth went dry at the sight in front of her. As much as she tried to concentrate on the book in her hands (and failing miserably at doing so), Toni couldn't help but stare at her, feeling like a horny thirteen year old boy while doing so, but _damn_ only a god could have created these perfect curves.

Meanwhile, Cheryl unfazedly scanned the closet, pulled out a few clothes and held them in front of her as she critically examined herself in the mirror, not bothering to actually try something on.

_Did she not know Toni was here or did she just not care?_

Just as she considered clearing her throat or saying something, the redhead seemed to feel Toni's burning gaze on her.

"Stare much?," she asked nonchalantly while still eyeing the clothes in front of her. Her tone lacked the usual bite and disgust, making her sound almost.. _friendly_. Well, okay, that was an exaggeration, more like _neutral_.

Taken aback by the sudden change of demeanour, Toni decided to just roll with it.  
She has never been one to back out after all.

"What can i say? I like the view," she put the book down, curious for Cheryl's reaction.

The other girl hummed as she glanced over the clothes for a moment, trying to appear unaffected, but Toni could swear her cheeks turned darker.

_Was her mind playing her a trick or did she just make Cheryl Blossom blush?_

"Don't fall in love already, Sappho," she snarled, snapping her head towards Toni in an attempt to maintain her bitchy attitude.

"Oh, don't worry, red," she retorted.

"You're not my type."

Okay, that was _clearly_ a lie, but the girl didn't need to know that. She would probably be creeped out or hate her guts even more.

In a manner between playful annoyance and serious irritation Cheryl rolled her eyes, before she crossed her arms and gave Toni an amused look.

"You mean not your league."

_Was she teasing her?_

The redhead was eerily peaceful, considering how she had thrown an eye shadow towards Toni just an hour ago.

Either this girl had some bipolar-ish mood swings or this was solely the calm before the storm and she would go back to playing her game and insulting Toni in no time.

Unsure how to interpret Cheryl's altered behaviour, Toni quirked her eyebrow and let out a chuckle

"Smooth, Blossom. Now let's get breakfast, so we can get this day over with."

 

 

-

 

 

 

Being the Queen Bee she was, Cheryl attached great importance to her physical appearance and looks.

That included not only having perfect hair, make-up and nails 24/7, but also a perfect body and being in good shape. So naturally she was awfully picky when it comes to food, compulsively avoiding any kind of sugar, fat or other high-calorie foods.

Some may go as far as calling it an eating disorder, but Cheryl merely considered it a refreshing form of control, power and discipline. (Besides, her decreased appetite as a side effect of her stimulants came in handy)

So when she stood in front of the meal counter this morning, she opted for one slice of whole-grain bread with tomatoes and hummus as usual, derogatorily looking down on the pawns eating pancakes for breakfast.

 _Yikes_.

Carrying the tray with her rather modest breakfast, she strutted through the cafeteria towards the Vixen's table, Josie, Midge, Ginger and Tina already seated and chattering lively.

"Morning, ladies," she chirped, sitting down in the middle of the group.

"What are we gossiping about?"

"Hey, Cheryl," Josie flashed her a warm smile. "Well, apparently Weatherbee wants the Serpents to partake in extracurriculars and some of them want to try out for the Bulldogs, making Reggie and Chuck feel threatened. It's _hilarious_!" She giggled.

"Haha, yes, how little the male ego can take," Cheryl commented half-halfheartedly, not wanting to actually partake in their discussion, but not wanting to dismiss her friend either.

Josie continued rambling about the Bulldogs, but Cheryl's thoughts wandered off to said Serpents... well, _one_ Serpent in particular.  
She still didn't know what it was about her, but Toni had a way to get to her – it really pushed all her buttons.

Not only did she barged in on her in the bathroom this morning like the uncivilized tramp she was, no she was also shamelessly checking her out. The girl was lucky, Cheryl had popped a Xanax earlier and didn't bother to call her out on her staring.

It was her good mood that hold her back from putting the girl in her place and _okay_ maybe she was a little bit flattered by the attention, but it was mostly because of the X. mostly.

Her gaze drifted off, wandering through the cafeteria until it landed on brown curls with pink strands.

_Talk of the devil, and he is bound to appear._

Cheryl narrowed her eyes, fixating her gaze on Toni and the other Serpents. They were five of them, Jughead and Toni being the only familiar faces, sitting a few rows away at a round table.   
Although Toni was facing towards Cheryl, she didn't notice her staring daggers at her, too busy messing around with the guys. The redhead stared at Toni holding her side as she threw her head back in laughter over something Jughead said.

She looked so carefree and happy, it made Cherly's stomach wrench with envy and disgust.

She couldn't remember the last time she genuinely laughed or was that lighthearted.  
Not since Jason died and everything started to go downhill.

 _God_ , Cheryl could hear their obnoxious laughter up to her table, it made her hate them even more.

What could possibly so funny anyway? Jughead's pathetic sex life with Nancy Drew?

Cheryl would love to just walk over their and wipe these abominable grins off their dumb faces.

Yes, she would do that. Right here, right now. 

"Cheryl!"

Josie's voice ripped her from her thoughts, causing Cheryl to break her hateful gaze from Toni and perk up.

"Mhhm?"

"Are you listening? We were thinking about going to Pop's later. You in?"

" _Ugh_ , i wish i could," the redhead rolled her eyes, "but Mr. Russell is making me do chores with the gypsy for our little _argument_ yesterday."

"Speaking of," Josie smirked,  
"How are things going with your new roommate?"

Cheryl groaned, "Please don't call her that. That girl is basically an ogre and has manners as such. Meaning none."

Actually, that wasn't _entirely_ true. In fact, Cheryl was quite surprised how tidy the Serpent has been so far, careful not to leave her stuff laying around, but the cheerleader would be damned if she started praising the hoodlum for common sense in front of her friends, especially when gossiping was so much more fun.

"That bad, huh? Girl, i do not envy you," Josie giggled.

After the ring of the bell, signalling the end of breakfast, Cheryl looked down at her untouched breakfast in disgust, her stomach still tied to a knot.  
Whatever, she wasn't hungry anyway.

"Walk to class together?," she beamed Josie a smile, the question being rather a rhetorical one since they had AP English together and always walked together, but being the slightly possessive nature she was of, Cheryl wanted to make double sure.

"Sure."

They got up to leave and made a stop at Josie's locker before strutting through the hallways towards their classroom.  
Cheryl could tell the Xanax had subsided by now as she found herself still being irritated and thinking about the pink-haired Serpent, her heart picking up speed at the thought of her.

_God, how much she hated her._

As they turned the corner, she spotted none other than Toni and King hobo himself standing in the corridor. They were deep in conversation, not noticing the two cheerleaders approaching.

Giving Josie a malicious grin, which was returned by a knowing smirk, she nodded towards the pairing.

"Out of the way, Tweedledum and Tweedledee!" She marched between them and pushed both of them backwards, Toni more forcefully than Jughead, causing her to smash against the lockers with a loud bang.

Without looking back she joined in on Josie's laughter as the other girl caught up to walk beside her.

"Damn, Cheryl, you have no chill."

 _No, that she did not_.

Not when it came to the Serpents and that stupid Toni Topaz with her ridiculous bright smile and her awful pink hair.

 

 

-

 

 

Cheryl was actually looking forward to English since it was her favourite subject and they were currently reading _Brave New World_   (Cheryl loved it, already relating to the characters). Plus, it would take her mind off the pink-haired Serpent that so rudely occupied her thoughts lately.

But _of course_ , fate wouldn't spare Cheryl from the ever-present annoyance that was Toni Topaz.  
God forbid, she could get some distance and some peace, _no_ that was asked too much.

So it came, that the Serpent barged in the class room, like the pleb she was being 8 minutes late, shot Cheryl an amused smirk upon seeing her and plumped down in the seat diagonally in front of her.

 _Fantastic_.

For the rest of the lesson, Cheryl did her best to ignore her and participate in class, she really did, but the girl made it damn hard as she contradicted _everything_ Cheryl had to say. Whether it be about the novel's characters or backstory, whenever Cheryl raised her hand to say something, Toni did the same and had to disagree.

"In my opinion, Mr. Parker," Cheryl prepared her answer to the teacher's question about Soma in the book, "It is solely a new sort of luxury, a status symbol for the bourgeoisie that serves as entertainment."

"Well, _i think_ ," Toni cut in once again, causing Cheryl to roll her eyes.

 _Here we go again_.

"The drugs act as a form of escapism for the protagonists, distracting them from their vacant existences," she turned around to shoot Cheryl a challenging grin.

_Didn't she ever get enough? Did she seriously want to challenge Cheryl in front of the whole class?_

Call it fulsome pride, but Cheryl Blossom was not about to be humiliated by a _Southisder_ , that was for sure.

"Nonsense!," she promptly spoke up, voice louder than intended, causing some students to turn their heads.

"It is a mere indulgence of no significant importance and quite frankly," she fixated Toni with narrowed eyes, " _overinterpret_."

She clenched her fists so hard under her table, that her knuckles must have turned white by now, but Cheryl was too busy staring down Toni to even notice.

The other girl returned her evil eye with a wink and a cheeky smirk.

_Fucking bitch._

"Okay, girls, enough now," Mr. Parker sighed, pressing the bridge of his nose. "It's nice to see both of being you so.. _passionate_ about the book, but let's turn it down a bit, okay?"

The bell interrupted their heated discussion, the relief on the teacher's face evident. He was probably just as glad that this lesson was finally over as Cheryl was.

She swiftly gathered her things and stormed out off the classroom after shooting Toni another spiteful glance.

 

 

-

 

 

She was alone in the bathroom once again, none of her friends actually bothering to look after her, as she leaned on the sink and stared at her reflection in the mirror, tired brown eyes gaping back at her whilst observantly studying her features.

No need for false modesty, Cheryl knew she was beautiful.  
She took great care of her body and her outward appearance after all, but still.. there was something missing.  
There was something so cold, almost _lifeless_ about her..  
Her posture was stiff and taut, her voice harsh and patronising and her face stony and cold, no indication of any cordial emotion.

When did she become this.. _shell_?

It must have been after Jason died, after he was so cruelly taken away by one of these thugs that now invaded _her_ school – the only place on this earth where she could be more or less herself; It was her way of a fresh start, away from her abusive, heartless mother and that _awful_ god forsaken house where she had suffered so many traumas in and triggered so many terrible memories.

Sometimes when she went to bed sober, those memories would come back as nightmares haunting her mercilessly. She would see her father drunkenly hitting her over and over again with his belt as he had done so many times before he died last year, suffocating on his own vomit like the abnegator he was.  
She would see her mother grasping her wrist and blame her for her brother's and father's death, telling her over and over again how worthless she was and how much she despised her.

But the most painful memory was Jason.  
The nights she dreamed of him were _excruciating_ , her own mind tricking her into thinking he was still with her, leaving her sobbing and gasping for her in her bed as she woke up covered up in sweat and tears. 

It was plain cruel.

 _God, she missed him so much._ She needed him more than ever, _craving_ his proximity and presence.

_How was she supposed to life without him? How was she supposed to ever get over his death?_

There was not a single person in the whole world who understood her like Jason did.  
They were soul mates, always knowing what the other thought, finishing sentences, feeling each other's pain.

And now he was dead.

And so was a part of Cheryl.

Gone forever.

And she was alone.

Deep down she wanted someone to see her pain, to care about her or simply show _any kind_ of genuine interest in her.  
She had hoped so many times that Josie or one of her other friends would once in a while ask how she was doing and it had hurt her every day when they did not.  
But eventually she got used to it. She got used to people not caring and only loving the superficial Cheryl while simultaneously trying to stay as far away from her demons as possible.

And besides, over the years she had found other ways to numb the pain.

The pills never failing to make her feel better or sleep better, whichever she needed at the moment.

Sure, there were some unpleasant side effects, but it was nothing she didn't have the antidote for;

When she was tired due to the preceding night's Zolpidem or Atvian, she took Adderall to liven up.

When the Adderall made her tense or edgy, she took Benzos or Xanax.

When she had a headache caused by the now almost daily Xanax, she took Aspirin and so on.

_Simple as that._

Although the situation wasn't ideal, it was still better than dealing with reality and that suited Cheryl just fine.

As long as she kept it in under control and wouldn't exaggerate her consumption, she didn't see a problem with what she was doing.

_She was still in control._

If she _wanted to_ , she could stop it right now.  
Well, obviously there was no reason to stop now, quite the contrary actually, now that she had to deal with the Southside trash and face her brother's murders everyday, but she definitely _could_ stop.

 _If_ she wanted to.

Her heart started racing again at the thought of the Serpents and she tried to get them out off her head as quickly as they came.  
She released a breath she didn't know she was holding and unclenched her now aching fists.

_Relax._

_You can do it._

Chewing her lip, she weighed her options.  
She could go out there _sober_ and further face this already dreadful day, having to endure her pesky roommate who seemingly never left her side or...  
she could make this school day _a little_ more bearable...

Well, she did deserve a little distraction as a reward, considering how nice she had been this day to her classmates. So far she hasn't insulted anyone today.. at least not seriously and she had managed to keep up with Toni pretty well. Okay, she did throw an eye shadow and pushed her into a locker, but still.. she did good.  
She deserved a little reward for that, and so she opted for the latter of the two options as she searched her bag for the pill box. Even though that was the second Xanax today, Cheryl decided she deserved to treat herself a little today since she had to keep up with twice the amount of shit, so the double dosage was only justified.

At least that's what she was telling herself..


	4. Overwhelming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cheryl and Toni are getting closer... at least until Cheryl tries to kill off whatever it is she's feeling and turns into the Queen of ice again. 
> 
>  
> 
> (Trigger warning: slightly homophobic language, internalized homophobia)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello my loves,  
> sorry for the delay, i'm drowning in work, but i plan on posting a new chapter every ~ five days.  
> xx

 

The rest of the school day went rather peaceful, now that Cheryl was considerably more relaxed.  
Much to her relief, she didn't have to see the Serpent for the next two hours which gave her some time to calm down and actually focus on class.

Due to the upcoming exams in March, school was already hard enough and the last thing Cheryl needed right now was a distraction.

Well, okay she still had more than half a year to study, but one could never start soon enough.

She was a Blossom after all, and Blossoms didn't take any half measures. When Cheryl Blossom did something, she would excel at it. Besides, she planned on getting out of this town the minute she graduated and go to a first-class college, so grades were her number one priority right now.

It wasn't until sixth period that she saw a flash of pink hair in the seat next to hers when she entered her biology classroom.

"May i ask what you are doing here?," Cheryl walked over to _her_ desk, crossing her arms.

Toni looked up from her notes to flash her a smile.

"Bombshell! We meet again," she greeted her joyfully.

_Damn you and that stupid smile._

"Again," the HBIC rolled her eyes demonstratively,

"what are you doing _here?_ That is Kevin's seat."

That wasn't even a lie. Since Kevin was the only one in this class, besides her of course, with more than two brain cells, Cheryl had nominated him as her lap partner.

"Actually, red," a dark haired boy in a Serpent jacket approached them, "Kevin's with me now. Sorry."

"Pardon me?," she quirked her eyebrow and eyed him snidely.

"Well, apparently we wouldn't be able to keep pace with your fancy school, you know since we're stupid _Southside scum,_ " he mockingly spat the words Cheryl used prior, "so we got some catching up to do."

"What Fangs means," Toni cut in, standing up from her seat and giving the boy a stern look, "is that the teacher wants us to partner up with you guys in order to help us in class and Kevin kindly volunteered to assist Fangs."

She gestured towards the boy who was now sitting in the last row and guiltily looked up to mouth an apologetic "Sorry."

_This traitor._

"Kevin, you Judas!," Cheryl snarled at him with narrowed eyes, her wrath now redirected to her classmate and as of now _former_ lab partner.

She took a deep breath, attempting to suppress the uneasy feeling that started to spread in her stomach.

_Probably just the pills, calm down._

Deep down she knew she couldn't hold this against Kevin and be mad at him. He must be terribly lonely being the only openly gay guy in school and judging by the way he and that Serpent boy exchanged these smitten looks, he probably seized the opportunity to ditch her and hook this guy.

Although Cheryl was slightly disgusted that he would stoop so low and quite frankly, very much offended that he would choose that snake over her, she sympathized.

School could get awfully lonely and having a companion, a _real_ friend to confide in must be nice...

Nevertheless, that still meant she had to partner up with a Serpent, because Kevin couldn't keep it in his pants. _Thanks a lot._

She shot him one last evil eye before reluctantly sitting down next to Toni with a groan.

The brunette turned her head and smirked, "Looks like we're lab partners now."

 _Dear god,_ she genuinely seemed happy about this.

"I will not get rid of you, will i?," she snapped, her tone cold and harsh, but Toni remained unimpressed.

"Aww, you make it sound like it's a bad thing," she clicked her tongue and pouted playfully, drawing Cheryl's attention to her chapped, full lips for a split second. But only for a second.

_Focus, goddammit._

"I'm serious, Cha-Cha, if my notes deteriorate because of you, i will make you sleep outside."

Her 4.0 GPA did not come from nowhere and Cheryl planned on keeping it that way, even it meant she henceforth had to work together with Toni or rather _for_ her by finishing _their_ assignments on her own.

"Don't worry, you geek, i got this," the Serpent snickered as she reached for the microscope to start with today's task.

Throwing a quick glance on the task sheet, she watched the other girl warily. Today's topic was the different phases of the mitosis and how to tell them apart.  
Even for a top student like her it was a challenge, not to mention the clueless girl next to her who probably couldn't tell the difference between a bucket and a toilet. Pressing her lips together, she eyed her skeptically.

"Do you even know what you're doing?"

"Cheryl," the other girl sighed, looked up from the microscope and gave her a serious look, "this may come as a shock to you, but i did not grow up in the boondocks, i actually went to school and learned a thing or two."

"More than dressing like a bum and hiding from the police?," Cheryl clutched her heart in artificial indignation, "Colour me shocked."

"Enough to know that, first, you're full of shit, and, second," she casually drawled, nodding towards the microscope, "this is Prophase."

She confidently flashed the redhead her by now signature smirk as she leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms behind her head.

"Mind if i check?" Not awaiting Toni's response, she already reached for the microscope and looked through it.

 

_Oh._

"Prophase," she confirmed sheepishly.

"Like i said."

Cheryl huffed, waving her hand dismissively, "Whatev, beginner's luck."

"Really?," Toni raised her eyebrows suggestively, "Wanna bet?"

_A bet? Was she serious?_

She threw her an unimpressed look, "Seriously?"

"Yeah, why not? I bet that i get at least nine out of ten of these things right."  
Having noticed Cheryl's hesitation, she continued, "You're free to bet against it, of course... unless you're scared of losing."

That got the redhead's attention as she snapped her head towards the other girl, eyeing her thoughtfully.

The elitist in Cheryl told her to put the girl in her place - after all, betting fell into the same category as gambling and that was for the lower class - but the competitive side of her quickly gained the upper hand.

Cheryl Blossom wasn't one to back down from a challenge, even if it was just a stupid bet with a Serpent in her biology class.

"I _never_ lose, you saprophyte! What is our wager?"

"Ohhh, alright, sorry catkins," she threw her head back in laughter as she thought for a minute.

"Let's say, when i win.."

"IF," Cheryl corrected her sharply earning a playful eye roll from the other girl.

" _IF_ i win, you take me to Pop's for a milkshake and a burger. Your treat. And _IF_ you win..?"

Her complacent smile made Cheryl's heart race.

 _Damn you, Toni Topaz, and your obnoxious smirk._ She would wipe that stupid, confident grin off her face in no time.

"WHEN i win, which i totally will, you'll sleep outside for two days. I suppose sleeping under a bridge is familiar for you? If not, you can crash with your rabble, i don't care."

"Ouch, that was cold, but okay," Toni stretched out her hand, "It's a deal."

Cheryl did the same and shook it, shivering slightly at the touch of their hands, Toni's warm hand fitting perfectly in Cheryl's pale one.

"Bring it on, Topaz!"

-

Much to Cheryl's displeasure, Toni proved herself to be rather smart. More than that, it turned out out she was a huge nerd, eagerly taking notes the entire class and only tearing her gaze from the blackboard or her book to look through the microscope every now and then. Cheryl already regretted agreeing on the bet as she sneaked a peek on the task sheet in front of Toni, seven questions already filled out – only three more to go.

She wondered if it was too late to back out now, because she really did not want to be seen sharing a milkshake with a Serpent, let alone spend any more time with the critter than necessary. Bad enough that they were not only roommates but also _lab partners_ now..

Well okay, admittedly she _did_ have the brains, which was even funnier since she was not even half the badass she always made herself out to be given the way she enthused about cell division. It was kinda cute actually. Kind of.

Her gaze drifted off to the Serpent next to her looking through the microscope and chewing her lips in concentration.  
"Need any help, _pendejo?_ ," she asked scornfully, trying to contribute to their project, but it was obvious Toni didn't need any help.

Not that Cheryl would ever admit that out loud.

Toni lifted her head to meet the other girl's gaze and raised her brow, seemingly unfazed by the insult.

"Spanish, huh? Is there anything you can't do?"

A light blush crept on the redhead's cheeks at the compliment.

"And yes, you're free to assist," she pushed the microscope towards her.

"I just want to make sure you don't single-handedly fuck both our grades up." With that she looked through the microscope and pressed her lips together.

"It's Anaphase," she declared.

"Mind if i check?"

"Go for it."

The brunette once again reached for the microscope, looked through it and scribbled something on her sheets, "Anaphase."

"Like i said," Cheryl gave her a mischievous smirk which was promptly returned by the brunette.

They hold eye contact for a minute before Toni cleared her throat,

"So, tell me, Bombshell.."

"You know i sometimes also go by the name Cheryl, right?," Cheryl interrupted, rolling her eyes.

As proud as she was of her _epithet,_ it sounded weird coming from Toni, it was almost.. mocking. Besides, somehow she enjoyed hearing Toni say her name.

"So are we on the first name base already?," the biker teased and blinked slowly as her dark brown eyes scanned Cheryl's face.

Her pale skin betraying her once again as she couldn't hide the blush that was forming on her face.

Regardless of the very obvious agitation that her cheeks gave away, Cheryl tried to appear unfazed and languid, but the Serpent's scrutinizing gaze on her felt like a piercing spear, leaving her feel exposed and naked.

Something in the way Toni talked back to her and dared to stand up to her, even just so much as look her in the eyes, made Cheryl feel as if she could see right through her, past all the bullshit and fake crap, like she would see for who she really was and not be intimidated or scared. It was scary and new to Cheryl and she still didn't know what to make of it, she just knew that she _hated_ it.

Before she had the chance to come up with witty response, Toni was already absorbed in their assignment again, intently studying the microscope and her book.

Someone was really keen to win this bet, it seemed.

Cheryl briefly glanced over to Toni, the girl now eagerly scribbling something down on her notes, chewing absentmindedly on her lower lip. The Vixen's gaze slowly wandered from her warm, dark brown eyes over her petite, slightly upturned nose (Cheryl noticed she had a little scar on it and wondered if she had broken it at some point) to linger on her full, glossy lips in the same instant Toni's tongue flicked out against her lips.

"Take a picture, it lasts longer," she suddenly spoke up, causing Cheryl to wince slightly as the Serpent turned her head and winked at the redhead.

"I.. uhm," Cheryl cleared her throat and stiffened, "I was just concentrated, don't flatter yourself."

 _Dammit Cheryl, how embarrassing was that?_ Now she thinks she was staring at her or something, when she was merely.. lost in thought... about.. the cell-division cycle obviously.

"Whatever you say, Bombshell."

Cheryl rolled her eyes at the nickname she seemingly never would get rid of as Toni took another glimpse through the microscope

"Metaphase. Wanna check?"

"No, it's okay," Cheryl huffed, still embarrassed that she got caught.

"I gotta say, we make a pretty good team, right? I mean me doing all the work and you staring at me, it works for us."

"Dream on, closet monster," she snapped, her voice coming out louder and harsher than intended.

"And may i remind you that there is still a bet going on since you felt the need to prove yourself. C'est pourquoi i didn't butt in on you doing..," she waved her hand, gesturing towards Toni's notes, "your little _study_. How is that going anyway? I, for my part, am finished and have my answers."

She smiled proudly, already confident of victory as she watched Toni slowly sliding her notes to the middle of the desk, so that both girls could take a look at it. There was no way she got enough of them right in order to win the bet, so Cheryl did the same and put her own notes next to Toni's to compare their answers.

She swiftly scanned the Serpent's answers as her smile faltered and her eyes widened in a mix of disbelief and annoyance. _Anaphase, Metaphase, Telophase, Cytokinesis?!_.. she got _every single one_ of them right.

_Impossible._

"Oh, would you look at that?," Toni exclaimed in artificial surprise, "we have the exact same answers."  
She leaned closer, her head propped up on her arm, "What are the odds, huh?"

Cheryl snorted in defeat, "Fine, you won, but for the record i know you have been cheating."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, red. So, when are you planning on taking me out?"

"First, I won't ' _take you out_ ', hun, i'm getting you a damn milkshake and second, just because we're lab partners and roommates and are forced to spend time together, doesn't mean we're anywhere close to friends, so don't get your hopes up."

 _Damn, that was harsh, even for Cheryl's standards._ But regardless, it had to be said. Someone had to put the girl in her place.

"Sorry to break it to you, but we're also janitor buddies now," Toni grinned, unimpressed by Cheryl's insult. "which by the way starts in an hour."

 

 

-

 

 

"There is no way in hell i'm doing this!"

Toni watched Cheryl crossing her arms and eyeing the trash gripper she held out to the redhead with a disgusted expression.

Mr. Russell had assigned them to their first chore for today, which of course had to be picking up trash, and instructed them to get the equipment and get back to him in two hours.

So, here they were, standing in the tool shed, Toni awkwardly holding two garbage gripper stretched out to Cheryl who was mulishly standing in the doorway like a disgruntled child.

"You heard the guy. It's either that or Weatherbee. Your call," Toni responded, not in the mood for another fight, especially when they were finally starting to get along.

_Kind of._

Well, at least that's what Toni thought, the girl was not easy to decipher.

"Pardon me if i haven't made myself clear, but," Cheryl slowly crossed the small space, her eyes fiercely locked on Toni,

"I. Am. Not. Doing. This."

_Alright, she was back to her bitchy, patronizing self._

Toni lowered the tools and sighed, "You don't exactly have much of a choice."

"Well, contrary to _you_ being used to community service, no doubt, i am not a maid nor will i ever lower myself to clean up other people's _trash_."

 _That's it_. That was enough derogatory shit for today. She could handle the teasing and the nicknames, or rather insults (she found it amusing to a certain extent), but even Toni's patience came to an end at these classist stereotyping. She never knew if the girl was teasing her or seriously insulting her, but right now she assumed it was the latter.

"Wow, just when i thought you could actually be chill, no, the brat comes to light again."

Cheryl's eyes shot open, "I beg your pardon?"

Mentally preparing herself for the inevitable storm that was about to follow, Toni took a deep breath. She wouldn't back down now.

"You heard me, Blossom. Now stop being a stuck-up bitch and help me with this, would you?"

Despite her not-so-friendly choice of words, her voice was back to being soft and calm, even a bit teasing.

Although she wanted to stand up to the girl and put her in her place, she also didn't want to lock horns with her yet again and be the reason for her bad mood, especially when Cheryl looked so much prettier smiling. _Okay_ , she hadn't really seen her smiling _yet_ , but she still didn't want to see her angry.

She resolutely hold Cheryl's gaze, returning her staring daggers with a stern, yet encouraging expression.  
Much to her surprise, Cheryl gave in after what felt like forever, dramatically rolling her eyes and letting out an audible groan.

"God, fine, but just so we're clear, i won't be wearing an orange jumpsuit and if anybody sees us, i'm out."

Still taken aback about how easy that actually was, Toni smiled.

"Fair demands. Here," she once more held out the trash gripper to her, which the redhead grudgingly accepted this time.

 

They exited the tool shed and walked over to the football field, Cheryl reluctantly trudging behind whilst inaudibly grumbling under her breath. Once they reached the bleachers, they got to work and started cleaning up the garbage, Toni doing a pretty good job at blocking out Cheryl's occasional grousing and Cheryl doing a good job at.. well, complaining and taking a selfie every then and now, but other than that, she did good.

It took some time, but they actually made progress and even managed to have a somewhat friendly, easily flowing conversation once they discovered each other's love for gossiping and gushing about all kinds of things.  
It came to no surprise that Cheryl _loved_ gossiping about other people – plus it was convenient that she seemingly knew _everything_ about _everyone_ – whereas it was more like Toni's guilty pleasure to talk about other people like that. She did have boundaries though, for instance when it came to the Serpents, but she couldn't resist gossiping a little about her friends from time to time.

Cheryl had just finished a story about how she caught Archie and Veronica vigorously making out in the rec room, earning a giggle from Toni.

"I'm telling you, they were swallowing each other alive. Up to this day, I'm still struggling to get the image out of my head," Cheryl shuddered in disgust.

"Ohh, i can outdo that," Toni began. "As disgusting as Veronica's and Archie's not-so-subtle PDA might be, Jughead and Betty surpass them all. I overheard them giving each other _the worst_ nicknames the other day. It was awful."

Cheryl's grin widened, "Oh my god, spill!"

"Okay, let's see.. I overheard Jughead - mind you the Serpent king - call Betty _Poopsie_ ," she tried to contain her laughter as she continued, "and Betty call him _Pumpkin_ and _Mopsy_."

Cheryl threw her head back as she burst out into laughter. A _real,_ genuine laughter for a change.

Toni felt a smile creep upon her face as she watched the other girl in awe, trying to savour the sight and sound of her laughter. It was marvellous.  
From now on that was her favourite view and she intended to be the reason for it more often.

Cheryl was too serene to notice Toni's staring.

" _Mopsy?,_ " her laughter died down to a light chuckle, but the beautiful smile remained on her face. "What is that even supposed to mean?"

Toni shrugged, "I have no idea, but it was so cheesy, i almost vomited into my mouth."

That elicited another giggle from the redhead.

Toni was surprised and happy to have discovered this side of Cheryl Blossom – the Cheryl who dropped the bitch act and acted like a normal human being - and she internally thanked the janitor for the tasks as she found herself actually _enjoying_ Cheryl's company. More precisely, she had somehow enjoyed every single minute with her so far – even their catfights and bickering. Toni knew, or rather hoped at least, that she didn't mean the things she said and that was just the way she was.

They continued talking about all kinds of stuff as they cleared the campus off the trash and before they knew it the first ninety minutes had already passed.

_Time really flew when she was with Cheryl._

 

 

-

 

 

Fuck.

 

_Fuck, Fuck, Fuck._

 

Cheryl knew she shouldn't have taken the second Xanax earlier. She should have known it would come back to bite her. She hadn't expected the side effects to be that severe this time, but then again what did she expect? The dizziness and drowsiness have never failed to ruin her day and yet again she did it over and over and again.

Toni and her were by the small grove near the football field, when she felt her vision starting to get blurry and her walking turning into a stumbling.

Cautious not to draw Toni's attention to her, she came to a halt, propping herself up on the trash gripper as best as she could without having Toni remark something.

The other girl stood about four meters away, her back turned to Cheryl as she talked about something, but Cheryl couldn't understand her any more, her words by now nothing more than a muffled ringing in Cheryl's ears.  
She tried her best not to lose her balance as her surroundings started to swirl, leaving her staggering towards the next tree for support, but stumbling midway when she felt her feet giving in, only to be swiftly caught by Toni.

"Cheryl!"

Even though it sounded miles away, Cheryl could hear the worry in Toni's voice.

"Are you okay?"

"Mhh.. yeah.. i.. i just," she cringed at the sound of her slurred speech, not being able to even form a coherent sentence.

_Focus. Act normal._

"Wait, i got you." She felt Toni's strong arms prop her up and walking her towards the next bench.

Cheryl felt like a fifteen year old girl who got wasted at her first house party and needed to be taken care of. 

_Pathetic._

"Stop," the Vixen croaked, her voice barely above a babbling whisper, too quiet for the other girl to notice.

"Stop," she tried again, her voice much clearer and louder already.

"Stop, STOP!"

She forcefully detached herself from the Serpent, pushing the other girl away with yank.

"Stop, okay?! I don't need your help, it's nothing."

She regained her composure as the side effects started to fade. By now, Cheryl was accustomed to these little 'seizures' and knew that they didn't last long and were gone as quickly as they came.

_Nothing to worry about._

"Whoa, okay, sorry," Toni had an agitated look on her face as she nervously ran her fingers through her pink curls.

"That didn't look like nothing, Cheryl."

"Low blood pressure. That's all."  
She tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, as if she just didn't have a drug induced seizure and almost fainted in the woods, if it hadn't been for Toni.

The other girl did not seem to be convinced though.

"Cheryl," she slowly began, walking over to her, "If you need someone to talk to.."

Startled by the sudden proximity, Cheryl hold her breath as Toni reached out her hand to let it rest _on her arm_.

"..or if i can help you with something," she gave her a reassuring squeeze, "just know i'm here."

Her eyes were filled with sympathy and concern - _genuine_ concern - as she gave Cheryl a warm smile.

She couldn't help but wonder when the last time was someone looked at her like Toni did right now.  
Or if someone _ever_ looked at her like that. Most people avoided to even look her in the eyes, as if she was Medusa and would turn people into stone, let alone _touch her._ Or even offer a friendly ear, for that matter.  
But here she was, Toni Topaz, with that ever-so-bright smile and warm, sincere eyes, asking how she was, _worrying_ about her safety. For a split second, Cheryl was so touched, she felt like she was about to cry.

 

No.

 

_No._

 

_God, what was wrong with her lately?_

She couldn't let that happen. No, she _wouldn't._ Cheryl did not spend half her life building up walls, only for them to be torn down by some Serpent harlot. There was a reason she didn't let anyone close to her. The only time people would 'care' about her or show any kind of interest in her was if they wanted something, be it money, prestige or gossip. Why would Toni be an exception?

She wholeheartedly _despised_ what Toni did to her. She hadn't quite figured what it was, but she knew she hated it. She hated that weird feeling in her stomach whenever she laid eyes on her, hated how she was at a loss for words at Toni's teasing, hated how her thoughts repeatedly drifted off to the pink-haired girl, she hated, hated, hated _her._

Why did she have to waltz into Cheryl's life? Why couldn't things go back to normal _without_ the annoying stain that was Toni fucking Topaz?

She wanted her gone. _Now_. And this time she would make damn sure to scare the girl off.

No, Cheryl would be damned if she let her close enough to hurt her, she just couldn't do it, she wouldn't survive yet another person letting her down, leaving her alone and hurt. As always.

And so, she did what she could do best; put on her mask of stone and block her out.

"Get your dirty paws off me, dyke!," She disgustedly shook Toni's hand off her arm, albeit already missing the feeling of her touch.

"Cheryl," Toni began, a confused expression on her face.

"Save it, creep," the HBIC coldly spoke over her, her ice queen persona in full effect.

"What is it with you?," Toni shook her head,  
"I thought we were starting to get along. Why do you.."

Cheryl's snarky laughter interrupted her once again.

"What?," she huffed, " _You_ and _i_ getting along? Or even better, becoming _friends?_ Wake up, Cha-Cha."

She mockingly snapped her fingers in front of Toni's face and slowly hissed,

"Never. gonna. happen."

She gave her a devilish smirk as she turned around to walk away, not wanting to see Toni's hurt face, see the damage she has done.

"What is wrong with you, Blossom?" Toni's angry voice coming closer as the brunette marched up to her.

 _Good. Hate me._ That will make it easier.

"Who do you think you are, huh? Treating everyone like they're _below_ you?," the Serpent demanded, almost shouting.

"As a matter of fact," she whirled around to face her,  
"I really _am_ above them all. And riddle me this, Topaz. Who, in particular, is _below_ me?,"  
she put her index finger to her chin, pretending to be deep in thought.  
"I'll give you a hint. They are wearing cheap leather jackets, smell like dogs and make a living off drugs and violence and _ohh,_ " she chimed overly surprised,  
"One of them is standing right in front of me, thinking she could win me over, when in reality... it remains a sad, pathetic attempt to be something she's not."

Cheryl watched Toni flinch with every word she spat as she stood frozen in place, a disbelieving and hurtful expression spreading on her face.

It hurt Cheryl too, but it had to be done.

This mixing of worlds, this liaison of people so different was against nature. An abomination. It wasn't right and nothing good could come out of it. Cheryl _had_ to put an end to _this -_ whatever _this_ was – , protect herself before the other girl got the chance to hurt her.

"Fuck you, Blossom," was all Toni could muster. She didn't cry, but Cheryl saw her eyes already beginning to water.

She brushed past Cheryl, stomping towards the school building.

"Bye, bye, tramp," she shouted after Toni who flipped her off without looking back.

 

_Yes, it was better that way._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cheryl is a bitch ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> but we love it
> 
>  
> 
>  PS: I always knew how much of a nerd Toni actually and last nights episode confirmed it, i'm crying :')
> 
>  
> 
> PPS: I'm sorry about the delay, i had kind of a writer's block, but the next chapter is due on Friday or Saturday :))
> 
> (btw did anybody get the Twilight reference?)


	5. Insight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toni learns about Cheryl's past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello my loves,  
> first of all sorry for the delay. I was kind of struggling with a writer's block and as always i'm super busy due to my upcoming exams in March, BUT afterwards i will be doing nothing but write. 
> 
> Also sorry for this short chapter, the next will be better and coming soon (this week, i promise).
> 
> Enjoy xx

 

_That Bitch._

That fucking, contemptuous, spiteful piece of trash.

Toni hastily wiped away the hot tears that threatened to escape her eyes as she stomped across the football field towards the school building.

If it hadn't been evident before, she was now sure that Cheryl Blossom had nothing but a chunk of ice at the place where her heart was supposed to be.  
Cold and soulless, just like her personality.

 _God,_ how could Toni have been so naïve? All this time she had hoped the girl was just of a hard-to-get-to nature, but as it turned out, she was nothing more than the typical mean girl.  
A first-class Alpha-bitch who fed on fear and sorrow.

Toni felt another swell of rage rise in her chest as Cheryl's words echoed through her head like a cursed mantra.

_'sad, pathetic attempt to be something she's not.'_

It wasn't even her insulting and name-calling that hurt her so much. No, that Toni could handle.  
It was this shameful humiliation that lacerated her feelings.

Truth be told, Cheryl was right. Toni would never be on a par with her, she would always be the worthless hobo girl from the wrong side of the tracks who had just made an _absolute fool_ out of herself, thinking she could get to Cheryl Blossom.

It enraged her even more that part of her felt guilty for leaving Cheryl alone after her fainting fit and wondered if the girl, who just insulted her in every way possible, was okay.  
And as if that wasn't enough already, the girl even had the power to make her cry.

Having been blinded by her rage, it wasn't until she reached the bleachers that Toni realized she was still holding the damn trash gripper in her hand.

Feeling another wave of anger pumping through her veins, she forcefully flung the tool at the tribune seats, hurling it with such fury that the gripper clanked against the next bench and got bent under the impact as it fell down with a noisy clatter.

Whatever, she couldn't care less about that stupid tool anyway.

Let Cheryl deal with this. It was her after all, who they owed this mess to, since she couldn't resist picking on her and her friends the minute they had set foot into RHBS like the the cold-blooded bitch she was.

 

 

-

 

 

Trying to calm herself down a little, she took a deep breath as she stood in front of Fang's and Kevin's dorm room and took a last look in her hand mirror. If she had to bother Fangs with this, she wanted at least look reasonable with what little dignity she had left.  
After making sure she didn't look as ruffled up as she did ten minutes ago when she packed a few of her things, intent on not spending more time with Cheryl than necessary, she knocked on the door.

Fangs was quick to open the door, his wide smile faltering upon spotting his best friend.

"Toni," he greeted her, the concern in his voice evident.  
Of course, Toni couldn't fool him, he knew in a second that something was up.

Without hesitation, he stepped aside, gesturing for her to come inside.  
Toni accepted the offer as she mumbled a sheepish 'Thanks' under her breath.

"Sup, Kev." She nodded towards the boy who was sitting on his bed, eyeing her questioningly.

"I hate bothering you guys, but can i maybe crash with you tonight?"

"Sure thing," Fangs promptly answered.  
"What happened?"

"Ugh, i hate a fight with Cheryl, if you could call it that. Well, basically she insulted me, like really hefty and i just.. can't stand it anymore. She's so exhausting and i don't even know what her problem is."

"That bad? You two sure seemed to get along in biology or at least were on friendly terms."

"I know, i thought so two, but when we were assigned to the chores she suddenly.."  
she paused, not wanting to tell the boys about Cheryl's.. whatever that was.. _syncope_?

"uhm.. she didn't seem to feel well and when i tried to comfort her, she suddenly snapped and went berserk on me."

"Why are you putting up with her shit anyway? She has been nothing but awful to us. I mean she tripped your leg and stuff."

Toni sighed as she sat down on the bed and put her head in her hands. She didn't really have an answer to that herself.

"I don't know. I didn't believe her to be _that_ heinous.. at least until now."

"Don't take it to heart, Toni," Kevin cut in and gave her a sympathetic smile.  
"Cheryl surely is a lot,but she is not as bad as she makes herself out to be. I mean she has better and worse days obviously, but she actually can be.. _nice_.. to some degree."

Toni scoffed, "Yeah, i'd like to see that."

"No, really, don't take the things she says too personally. She may have a hard shell, but there is a soft core under it. It just barely comes to light, which is understandable considering the things she had to go through.. all the stuff with her dad and Jason, it's not easy."

Toni's head perked up. _Her dad?_ She knew that her brother had died two years ago – allegedly through the hands of a Serpent, even though that was complete bullshit – but that was news to her.

"What about her father?"

"Oh, you don't know? He died about eight months after Jason's death. I'm not quite sure how, but apparently the Blossom family was more messed up than people presumed and he became a severe alcoholic after.. you know.. Jason, so i guess he died of intoxication."

"Oh."

Destiny had apparently not meant well with the other girl.

"Yeah, it was shortly before Cheryl came here, i mean she has been attending Riverdale High since Junior year, but she didn't live her. Rumour has it that she and her mom are on daggers drawn and she sent her here to get rid of her."

 _Well, that put things into perspective._ No wonder, the girl was an emotional wrack.

"Do you know her mom?"

"Yes, i have," Kevin scoffed. "If you think Cheryl is callous, wait till you meet Penelope. The woman is the embodiment of Cruella de Vil."

"So the wickedness is genetic, huh?," Fangs chuckled, only to be silenced by Toni with a stern look.

"Carry on, Keller," she turned her attention to Kevin again.

"Well, Cheryl hardly ever talks about her, but from what i've seen there's not exactly good will between them."

Toni couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. No one, not even a she-devil like Cheryl Blossom deserved to undergo these kind of things.

"yeah, yeah..," Fangs once again weighed in, "nasty mother or not, but someone has to bring her down a peg or two."

"Would you shut up?," Toni rammed her elbow not-so-gently into Fang's side. Just because he was her best friend and let her stay the night, doesn't mean he had the right to be so insensitive.  
"You don't even know her," she added with a glare.

"First of all, that hurt," he grumbled whilst rubbing his ribs, "and second, neither do you and yet you're here defending her even though you were complaining about her just five minutes ago because she treats us like shit."

Toni opened her mouth to retort something, but found herself at a loss for words.  
She still hated the girl nonetheless, but somehow it bothered her how Fangs was judging her so quickly without knowing her. Maybe if once in a while someone actually bothered to look through the façade and took the time to get to know her, they would realize that there was probably more to it than just a malicious mean girl.

 

She huffed, "I'm not _defending_ her, i'm... just curious about what Kevin has to say."

Kevin eyed them uneasily, but was quickly back to his gossiping self.

"You know what i think?," he gushed, "Cheryl is _all_ about power, hell, she lives off putting other people down, so i bet it drives her crazy that you don't take her shit and stand up to her, which by the way no one ever does, because tangling with Cheryl Blossom is basically a suicide squad...  
Soo, that's probably why she resents you so much. Plus, you're a Serpent.. no offense."

"None taken," Toni responded absentmindedly.

Cheryl feeling threatened or challenged by Toni had crossed her mind before, given the spoilt brat she was. And like Kevin said, she obviously wasn't used to people standing her ground, so it made sense that this aggravated her.

"So what do you suggest?"

"Mhh, i guess since she clearly just wants to provoke you, the best way to get back to her is taking that power from her over you by showing how little it affects you. Just like you have done before."  
He shook his head and snickered, "Trust me, it drives her up the walls. And i live for the drama."

Toni hummed, already lost in thought as she laid back on the bed and processed Kevin's words.

If _that_ was, what ticked Cheryl Blossom off, she would make damn sure to not stop with that.

No, starting tomorrow she would not be playing along to her bizarre power game anymore by showing her how her words spiteful words just bounced off her.

 

 

 

-

 

 

Deep down Cheryl _knew_ she carried it too far when she found the deformed trash gripper on the ground on her way back – Toni really must have been exasperated – but she merely did what had to be done.

This wasn't good for either of them and besides, Toni wouldn't want anything to do with her once she got to know her and see her for she really was.

Nothing but a _loveless, spiteful monster_ who destroyed everything and everyone around her, like her mother had never failed to remind her on a daily basis.  
Hence it was only for Toni's best, she should be grateful for that.

And so she pushed the guilty conscience aside and struck off to her dorm room.

Right now she just wanted to get high and not think about the Serpent any more.

 

-

 

Although she had wanted her gone and even dared Toni to sleep elsewhere, should she lose the bet, Cheryl couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed when she opened the door to their dorm and found Toni gone.

Judging by the look of the open closet and messy bed, the girl had hastily packed up a few of her things and left, probably to crash with her filthy pack of hounds.

_Whatever, it was better that way._

She popped two Valiums, hoping it would drown her thoughts of regrets and went to bed.

She got what she wanted after all.  
  


The Serpent was gone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked it. I will add the next chapter this week (for real this time)  
> xx


	6. The Lesson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toni is changing her tactics and it drives Cheryl up the walls.

  

"Good morning to you, ladies!," Cheryl chirped fulsomely as she put down her tray on the Vixen's table a little too energetic and audible and sat down.

"How are we doing on this fine day?"

"Morning, Cheryl," Josie threw her an amused look.  
"What's with the good mood?"

 _Oh, that, my dear friend, is the sweet, sweet mixture of Oxazepam and Adderall_ and a just a dash of Dexedrine that had Cheryl floating in her very own peaceful Nirvana.  
Enough anxiolytics to calm her nerves and forget her worries, but simultaneously an adequate amount of stimulants to keep her exuberant and productive throughout the day.  
It truly was a paradisaical combination.

But of course, Cheryl wouldn't say that out loud.

"I got rid of the Serpent," she replied with a gloating grin before glancing around the cafeteria, her eyes searching for the girl in question and her horde.  
The mensa was nearly completely filled, but it didn't take Cheryl long to make out pink hair in the crowd, Toni sitting at a nearby table with a few other Serpents.

"No way!" Josie's eyes widened, "How did you do that?"

Cheryl's eyes darkened as she turned her attention towards her friends again, a malicious plan already forming in her head.

"Well, by telling it how it is," she cleared her throat and spoke up, intentionally loud enough for the nearby Serpent table to hear.

"That our highly appreciated RHBS is not an animal shelter for these abhorrent snakes..," once she knew she had their attention, Cheryl turned her head towards the Serpents and threw them a venomous sneer,  
"..that call themselves _Serpents._ " She spat the last word as she fixated Toni with a stone cold gaze, feeling the hateful looks of the other gang members pierce through her.

The Vixen table erupted in giggling and Josie let out a phony, shocked gasp, "Drag them, Cheryl."

Cheryl pressed her lips to a sadistic smile and proceeded with her diatribe, now even more incited than before. The Serpents made such an easy target and this was too much fun to stop.

"I will not stand by and watch our school become depreciated and turned into a _freak show,_ " she declared sharply, the surrounding tables fallen completely silent by now as she was met with incredulous staring and death glares.

Cheryl watched the Serpent boy form biology, who she now knew as Fangs, stand up, a determined, enraged expression on his face, but Toni was quick to grab his arm, forcing him to sit down again whilst muttering under her breath, "She's not worth it, Fangs. Let it go."

 _Oh, Toni, you killjoy, let a girl have some fun.  
_But Cheryl was not finished yet. She wanted to make doubly sure, that these pests knew how the whole school felt about them.

"But no worries," she waved her hand dismissively and turned her attention to her squad and her breakfast again, "i doubt they will stick around much longer, it's not like anyone of them has a realistic chance to make it through Junior year, let alone graduate."

 

 

-

 

 

It was after sixth period on their lunch break, Cheryl and her posse of Vixens, consisting of Tina, Midge and Josie walking through the hallway, when the redhead made out a familiar laughter as they passed by the student lounge.

Being in the destructive and bold mood she was in today, she came to an abrupt halt, causing Midge to almost run into her, and turned on her heel to enter the student lounge, signalling her Vixens to follow her.

Veronica, Betty and Jughead were seated in the red couch across from the the other couch that was occupied by Toni, Fangs and another tall Serpent with dark hair and a tattoo on his neck sitting on the arm rest like the baboon he was.  
Judging by their obnoxious laughter, they were deepened in what seemed to be an _immoderately_ amusing conversation and too busy having fun to notice the HBIC looming.

Cheryl didn't like it.

"Well, well, well," she spoke over their lively chatter as she waltzed in, causing the room to fall silent as all attention was drawn towards her.

_Just how she liked it._

"What do we have here?"

She planted herself in front of the group and crossed her arms, addressing Veronica and Betty.  
"Careful there, Velma and Daphne, i don't want two of my Vixens infested with fleas."

"Cheryl," Veronica sighed. "Don't you have some children to terrorize? Somewhere else preferably?"

"Hilarious, Veronica." Cheryl narrowed her eyes, "But consider it a friendly reminder that your little tête-à-tête with the band of gypsies here," she glanced at the Serpents who were watching her intently, Fangs clenching his fists, "..is basically social suicide and i have, alas, no use for _losers_ on my squad."

"Are you threatening to kick us off the Vixens for hanging out with Jughead and his friends?"

Cheryl pressed her lips together to a waspish grin and shrugged.  
"Call it guilty by association."

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the tall Serpent draw himself up to his full height and approach her ominously.

"Why don't you back of, Blossom, before someone gets hurt."

His voice was deep and guttural and something menacing resonated from it, yet Cheryl didn't bother to deign a look at him, eyes still on the Scooby gang.

"Why is the amoeba talking to me?"

Although Cheryl didn't let it show, she could feel the air loading with a minatory tension as the guy cracked his knuckles and stared her down, wordlessly daring her to continue with her chicane, no one daring to speak a word or intervene.  
But she was not one to back down or cave in to a thuggish gang member. No, she would stand her ground.

It wasn't until Toni's sudden burst out with laughter, that the suspense evaporated and Cheryl snapped her head towards the gang, confused about the unexpected mood shift.

"Don't let her get to you, Sweets," she slowly lifted her head to meet Cheryl's burning gaze with a cocky sneer.

"She's all bark and no bite."

Cheryl's scowl cut deeper into her face as she looked the Serpent who, of course, _had_ to defy her once again, up and down.

"Do you have something to say to me?"

"Oh Cheryl," she sighed audibly. "You waltz into here like you own the place, thinking you can order us around with your insults and commands, but i bet you're the purest softie underneath that cold exterior, so why don't you make things easier for all of us and cut the bitch act?," she retorted nonchalantly, not once breaking eye contact with the ginger.

All eyes darted to her now, tensely awaiting the next storm, but Cheryl couldn't bring herself to tear her gaze from Toni's soft, kind eyes.

There was that look again.

That caring, understanding, tender look she gave her and Cheryl felt like she could drown in those warm, brown eyes.

But not in front of the others.

Not _today_.

Not _ever_.

She carefully arranged her features to a stoney expression and straightened her back.

"You know, if i wasn't so _repulsed_ by you, i'd might find your constant pursuits of my friendship cute," Cheryl expertly deflected, smiling her infamous cold smirk.

"Now if you'll excuse me, i don't want to catch any diseases." She turned on her heel, not giving the other girl a chance to respond.

"Vixens! We're leaving," she instructed harshly as she strutted towards the door, hastily followed by the other Cheerleaders.

 

 

-

 

 

Cheryl rolled her eyes and let out an audible, not-so-subtle groan. The third one in the last 20 minutes so so far. She had erroneously supposed it was common sense that evil glances and irritated sighs were the universal body language for 'Shut up, you're annoying.', but then again we were talking about the Serpents who lacked any kind of sanity and reason, so she didn't even have to bother since Toni obviously didn't get the hint or simply didn't care and continued unswervingly talking to Jughead.  
They had Study Hall together and of course, Toni had taken the desk next to Cheryl, one row in front of Jughead, but that didn't stop her from turning around every fucking two minutes to bug him with her constant calculus questions. The girl clearly had no notion of basic mathematics, but she seemed persistent and determined with her homework.

Just as insistent as she was with Cheryl.. or rather _intrusive_.

One might say that Cheryl has been a little too hard on her – especially yesterday - but it's not like the other girl hadn't contributed to their altercations. Since she couldn't refrain from challenging and ticking her off the whole time, she basically provoked it. So, she had no one to blame for Cheryl's outburst but herself.

But still.. the girl had ambition, Cheryl had to hand it to her.

She tried to concentrate on the worksheets in front of her again, but Toni's continuing questions made it impossible to focus.

The redhead pressed the bridge of her nose and let out yet another overt sigh as she weighed her options.

If it meant the toad would be quiet for the rest of the period, she was - reluctantly, of course - willing to help her a little, so that she could focus on _her_ work again without the Serpent's constant nagging and not at all, because she felt a tiniest bit, somewhat _bad_ about her previous demeanour.

Nope, not all.

With one last eye-roll she turned to face her.

"Look, Cha-Cha, it's not that hard, so even your tiny manatee brain should be able to comprehend this: _'g'_ is a polynomial function of degree 3 symmetrical to the coordinate origin, thus our derivative is a quadratic function symmetrical to the Y-axis. Got it?"

Toni raised her eyebrows and stared at her with a blank expression.

"In English, please?"

"The derivative is obviously a parabola, duh?"

The Serpent mockingly raised her hands in surrender at Cheryl's sharp reply.

"Gee, sorry, Einstein."

With a sigh, the redhead motioned her hand. It was evident that the girl had no idea what she was trying to explain.

"Move over," she curtly instructed the pink-haired girl as she shifted her chair next to hers, earning a baffled look form the Serpent, but didn't dare to question Cheryl's sudden act of helpfulness.

She wouldn't get anything done today anyway, so she might as well deign to help Toni a bit. After all, it was really pitiful to watch her struggle and it would serve as a way to kill time, of course.

"Okay, listen, i am only going to explain this to you ONCE, so you better pay attention now."

She scooted closer to Toni, reaching over her table to grab a pen, her leg briefly brushing Toni's, but Cheryl ignored the tingling feeling on her skin and uncapped the pen.

_Focus._

She leaned forward to take a closer look at Toni's worksheet, their shoulders now slightly touching and Cheryl could swear she heard Toni's breath hitch for a split second upon the sudden proximity.

_Focus, goddammit._

Gathering her thoughts, she drove along over the graph and cleared her throat.

"The derivative is nothing more than the slope of the graph at the respective x-value, okay?," she explained slowly, making sure the girl was following her as she scribbled on the other girl's notes.

"So when our graph 'goes up', our derivative is in the positive y-sector and vice versa."

She carefully placed the pen on the table.

"See? A parabola. Easy, right?"

"Yeah, totally," Toni scoffed. "How could i not have seen that earlier?"

"Did you get it now?"

"I did, yeah. Well this part at least. The other tasks contain words i have never heard of."

Cheryl felt a smile creep through her lips as she playfully rolled her eyes at the subtle request for further assistance.

"Show me what you don't understand."

And so the two girls got to work over Toni's assignment, Cheryl patiently explaining everything to the brunette, making sure she understood everything and before they knew it 30 minutes had already passed.

"How come you're so good at this?," Toni asked, obviously impressed by Cheryl's profound knowledge (and Cheryl would be lying if she said it didn't flatter her).

"Well, ambition and studying _ad nauseam,_ " she straightend her back and tilted her chin up proudly.

"Besides, i'm obviously exceptionally gifted when it comes to maths," she added with a joyful smile.  
It was true, she really was passionate about mathematics and she was not ashamed to embrace it.

"I wish i could say the same," Toni sighed. "I suck at maths. I don't even know how i'm supposed to graduate," she groaned, putting her head in her hands.

"Don't act so humble, little miss mitosis. The way you obsessed over biology yesterday revealed you as quite the nerd," she teased, earning a laughter and a playful glare from the Serpent.

"Shhh, would you keep it down? I have a badass image to remain."

"Nice try. Your knowledge about cell biology may be impressive, but not exactly intimidating. You're about as dangerous as a slowworm."

"Impressive, huh?," Toni raised her eyebrows and threw her a mischievous grin, her eyes searching for Cheryl's, awaiting her response.

But before she had the chance to react, the bell ring pierced through the room, just in time to save Cheryl from the slightly awkward direction this conversation was heading.

She was quick to stand up and gather her things, eager to get out of there, when she heard Toni clear her throat,

"Cheryl, uhm.. thanks for the help."

"No biggie, Cha-cha and for the record, i was only helping you, because i was _long_ finished with my homework and your permanent questioning was really grating on my nerves, so don't get used to this."

"No worries, red, i wouldn't have expected you to suddenly grow a heart overnight anyway," she retorted coldly.

Cheryl knew it should have come out as a joke, but the accusation was impossible to miss.

"Listen, uhm about...," Cheryl drawled, almost stammering, the apology on the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn't bring herself to it.

Admittedly, she _did_ feel the tiniest bit bad, but she was not about to apologize to a _Serpent_ for merely stating the obvious and pointing out the natural hierarchy.

No, that'll be the day.

It's not her fault that things were the way they were. So she shook her head, discarding her previous sentence.

"Are you coming back today? To our dorm, i mean," she nervously ran her hand through her hair, trying to sound as nonchalant and lackadaisical as possible, as if she didn't really care about it and just asked out of politeness, which she totally did.

"Why? You miss me already?," Toni was back to teasing her again. _Naturally_.

"God, NO. I merely want to spare poor Kevin of your irksome presence."

The pink-haired girl squinted at her,

"How do you know where i spent the night?"

Cheryl blinked slowly and stiffened.

"Uhm.. Kev told me earlier."

"Completely unsolicited or because you asked about me?," Toni crossed her arms, a cheeky grin plastered on her face.

"God, how can one person be that tedious?," Cheryl snapped and turned on her heel to walk away, before Toni could make out the blush that was forming on her cheeks, the Serpent's glorying laughter accompanying her on her way out of the classroom.

"You could have just said no," Toni shouted after her as she watched the redhead stalk away.

A peculiar feeling that Toni couldn't quite classify spread in her chest and she didn't know whether she was baffled or in awe about the surprisingly pleasant encounter she just had with the girl.

One thing she was sure about though.

 

Toni was determined to decrypt the enigma that was Cheryl Blossom.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to my upcoming finals this Friday (ughh), i probably won't be able to update for about the next two weeks, which i'm terribly sorry about, BUT after that i have more than enough spare time and will be writing nonstop :)))


	7. The Frenzy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cheryl is a complete and utter emotional mess. 
> 
> A certain someone is bad news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my loves,  
> My exams are done and i'm back and will now dedicate all my free time to writing.  
> Sorry it took so long but i will now update more frequently!! 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this one xxxooo

 

 

"Did i just see THE Cheryl Blossom condescend to help you with your homework?,"  
Jughead approached her, a knowing grin on his face.

"I mean, not that i'm complaining that she takes the work to explain calculus to you off my hands, but for a minute i thought i was hallucinating."

Toni rolled her eyes at the comment and punched his arm playfully.

"Shove it, Jones. And yes, you saw that right." She packed her things and they made their way towards the cafeteria.

"And between you and me, i was just as confused as you are, but i guess my charm finally enchanted her, i mean who can say no to that?," she waggled her hips as she gestured to her body, causing Jughead to laugh.

Truth be told, Toni indeed had to pinch herself earlier to make sure that she wasn't imagining things. Cheryl Bombshell sitting next to her? Helping her? Being nice to her? And than their accidental physical contact. Or was it accidental? Toni could have sworn she had witnessed the ginger gasp slightly when their legs touched. Did that mean anything? Or was she dreaming?

Oh god, Toni was probably high, there was no way Cheryl Blossom would be attracted to her in any way, not even platonic, she was probably just disgusted - just like she stated earlier - and had suppressed a gag.

 _Dear god, Toni, what do you care anyway?_ It wasn't like she _liked_ her or anything, well, of course Cheryl was hot and gorgeous and sexy and looked like a goddess, and damn these legs... but No.

No, no, no.

Cheryl and her? That was like good and evil. _Yikes._

She really had to stop overthinking and overanalyizing everything the redhead did. She had probably just helped her out of pity or boredom or whatever.

"Yeah, you are one Smooth Operator, Topaz. But for real, Cheryl never does anything for anybody if she doesn't benefit from it."

"Sup, guys," Fangs came up from behind, slapping both of them on the shoulder and thrusting himself in the middle between them.

"What's today's tea?,"

"Cheryl sat next to Toni in Study Hall and helped her with her homework. Completely voluntary." Jughead emphasized the last word as if it was so hard to believe that the cheerleader would do something like that.

"Whaat? No way," Fangs' eyes widened in surprise as he threw Toni a disbelieving look.

"The same Cheryl who called us a freak show just this morning?"

"The one and only."

The trio now crossed the schoolyard, aiming for the nearby lunch tables.

"Did you cast a magic spell or something?," Fangs pressed, clearly more interested than Toni preferred.

"Or maybe she just helped me out of.. you know _kindness._ "

She sat down on the bench, Jughead following suit while Fangs seated himself on the table.

"That requires having a heart, Tiny. So NO, next theory."

The more she thought about Cheryl's intentions, the more confused Toni found herself become. Of course, it was highly unlikely, but Toni liked to think that Cheryl wasn't as soulless as she tried to make herself out to be and maybe, just maybe her assistance earlier was her way of apologizing or making up for all the insults she threw in their way, but that was probably wishful thinking and Toni tried her hardest not to think about the redhead or her actions anymore. That would lead to overthinking and imaginary scenarios that would never happen in real life. Not like Toni would think about Cheryl, she was just... drifting off sometimes.

"For real tho, Cheryl is the kind of person who wouldn't call you an ambulance if you were bleeding to death, because her nail polish hasn't dried yet." Jughead cut in as Toni let out a sigh. Even though Cheryl has been – scratch that – _is_ nothing more than a bully, that didn't mean it didn't bother how the boys talked about her. Toni wasn't one to question kindness and didn't like the thought of alleging her to have an agenda.

"I bet she bathes in blood to draw eternal youth or something." The boys now laughed in unison.

"Or devours children for breakfast," Fangs retorted, causing Toni to choke on her water.

Okay, that was oddly not very far-fetched as she could definitely picture the ginger scarfing infants, but she still felt a little bad.

She slapped Fangs' arm as she tried to glare at her friends, but quickly had to give in to her laughter.

"You guys are assholes, you know that?"

 

 

-

 

 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the campus, said ginger stalked through the hallway of the dorm building, making her way towards the east wing. This section of the building used to contain more dorm rooms, but that was during RHBS's more glorious day and now the east wing was basically abandoned, nobody actually bothering to acknowledge its existence, let alone come here, and so it came that the former student lounge became the meeting spot for Cheryl and her 'friends' when they wanted to do something private, like you know taking drugs on a school day.

Cheryl buoyantly swung the doors open, knowing her friends were already inside awaiting her.

"I'm he-eere," she declared stridently as she waltzed into the room, causing the foursome of her friends to jolt and snap their heads towards her.

"Jesus, Cheryl!," Midge let out a shocked breath and clutched her chest.

Ignoring their displeased grumbling, she spoke over them. "My, my. Why so startled? You're not about to do something illegal in here, are you?," she teased, eyes scanning the room quickly.

Midge and Valerie sat on the couch across from Chuck, the three on either sides of the red armchair at the head of the table. It was an unspoken rule that the chair that was softest and most comfortable in the room was Cheryl's throne and so far no one had dared questioning that.

"We? Illegal?," Reggie, standing a few feet away at the stereo system, scoffed whilst reaching into his inner pocket. "Never."

Cheryl's gaze was promptly glued on the five striped Pixie Sticks he revealed, her eyes darkening in anticipation for what was about to come.

"Is that..?"

"Jingle-Jangle?" Reggie lifted his head to meet her burning gaze. "Why, yes. And only the best."

Chuck laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. "My man!"

The redhead crossed the room to greedily take one out of his hand, Valerie, Midge and Chuck curtly following suit.

"You are a knight in shining armour, Reginald. Now let's get this party started, shall we?"

If Cheryl had to chose, she'd say that Jingle-Jangle was by far her favourite substance _._ It operated like Ecstasy, but it didn't pep her up as much, but instead had a somewhat relaxing, yet exhilarant effect on her. And since it was absorbed via the oral mucosa, it kicked in way quicker than pills and the high was equally short, only lasting for about an hour, but not any less intense.

It was heavenly.Truly divine.

A comparable effect was only achievable, with cocaine and Diazepam, but Cheryl – much to her regret - had quickly learnt to stay away from such combination since it would cause her an unbearable chest pain and breathing problems.

The onerous side effects always got in the way of what could be a fun poly-drug-use trip, but whatever she finally got her hands on the highly coveted drug here and now after what felt like forever.

When was the last time she had the pleasure of JJ? Two weeks ago? Three? God, way too long ago.

If only Jingle-Jangle wasn't so hard to get one's hands on. Ever since the police shut down the main drug lab on the Southside and imprisoned the Sugar man, it was nearly impossible to get it by now, the only JJ available being the subprime, overpriced out-of-town junk the St. Clair siblings occasionally hooked them up with.

She ripped open the Pixie stick and the five poured the drug into their mouths in unison. It took Cheryl only a few seconds to feel the drug making its way into her system, a content sigh falling from her lips. She closed her eyes and hummed along to the song that was playing on Reggie's speakers.

That was her favourite part.

That moment when the bittersweet substance dissolved in her mouth, waiting to be absorbed. In about ten minutes the drug would kick in completely, carrying Cheryl off to another carefree world. One without worries, pain and distress. It allowed her to forget her surroundings for a brief moment and be truly happy.

Well okay, not _truly_ happy, it was more like a besotted, muzzy euphoria.

But Cheryl was desperate for every kind of distraction she could get, so she settled for that, even if it was the faux elation she got from drugs. It was a nice change from being dull and numb all the time, after all.

"So, Cheryl.."

She snapped out of the trance she's been in at the mention of her name and stared at Midge.

"Are we going to the St. Clair's welcome-back-party this weekend?"

"Course we are, chérie. Can't wait to see what Nick and Kate have been up to lately."

Nick and his sister Kate were back in town after they got kicked out of yet another overpriced, European boarding school for probably drugs or partying too hard.

But although Nick sometimes carried things too far, Cheryl was really glad to have made contact with him. He was a real catch and he certainly knew how to have a good time. Plus, the siblings threw the most excessive, wild parties. They were legendary in the whole county and Cheryl was looking forward to the next one next Friday. She, of course, was on the guest list, as is right and proper for a Blossom, the closest thing Riverdale had to a royalty.

"Cheryl wouldn't miss her favourite cocky snob for the world, Midge," Chuck cut in, a hint of acrimony laced within his words.

"Jealous much, Clayton?," she spat back.

It was no secret that both Chuck and Nick had a thing for Cheryl and were ogling her more than usual lately which led to the boys locking horns at the last party and almost ended in a fist fight, if Archie hadn't stepped in.  _The killjoy_

Since then they both had been competing for Cheryl's attention, but without luck. Even though Cheryl loved being in the limelight, a fortiori the object of desire of not only one, but two handsome, well-suited boys, she didn't let anyone of them get to her. Well, there has been the occasional flirt with Chuck and drunk make out session with Nick, but nothing serious. Come to think of it, she wasn't even sure why not, since Nick and her would make quite the power couple.

It was all about status and prestige after all and knowing she could have both boys with a snap of her fingers fulfilled her with an intoxicationg feeling of power.

"I'm not jealous, Cherry," Chuck responded airily. "Just think you could do better. That's all."

"Let me guess. Like you?"

"Well, now that you've mentioned it," he shrugged and threw her a smug grin.

Cheryl was in a way too good mood to let herself be bothered by Chuck's objectifying, so she decided to not reprimand him this time but rather ignore his blatant advances by subtly changing the subject.

"Why don't you guys channel your energy into something more productive, for example finally addressing the pest infestation that has been plaguing us for too long now?"

She looked promptingly in the round, but when she was met with silence and four questioning pair of eyes she groaned fulsomely.

"Good god, are you that high already or just plain stupid? I'm talking about the Serpents, you cretins,!"

Despite the chilling effects of the drug, Cheryl could feel a fresh swell of rage rise in her again at the thought of the intruders.  
Or maybe this stuff Reggie bought, was some diluted junk again.

"Ohh, right. What about them?," Midge asked.

"A little bird has told me that a few of the scoundrels are trying out for the Bulldogs," she snapped her head towards Reggie and Chuck again. "Care to elaborate, Mantle?"

Just because she was among friends and was high as a kite right now, didn't mean she would set aside her Queen bee persona. She wasn't at the top of the food chain for playing Mother Teresa after all and it was nice to see she could intimidate jocks like Reggie Mantle by simply glaring at them.

"Ehm," the boy gave her an uneasy look, but was quick to compose himself.  
"Uh, yeah, Weatherbee suggested it. Something about putting their team spirit to good use. Ridiculous, really."

  
"Well, i hope for both of your sakes," she pointed at the two football players who suddenly didn't look as jolly anymore ,"that you don't actually consider accepting them."

"Uhm, actually.. i mean... yeah, we still hate them and all, but uhm..,"

Cheryl threateningly rose to her feet as she slowly crossed the room and came to a halt in front of the boys, Reginald being a stuttering mess by now.

Considering how he usually felt like the virility in person, he surely didn't have the guts now.

_Pathetic._

"And why, pray tell, have you not rejected these _personae non gratae_ straightaway?," she leaned down, her face only a few inches apart from Reggie's who promptly averted his gaze and cleared his throat.

"Uhm, as much as we hate those guys, some of them are actually not bad and... we could really use some strong guys this season. Come on, Cheryl, you know how it is. We really -"

"Enough!" She interrupted him with a stern look. It was bad enough that the snakes were already polluting the sacred halls of RHBS with their presence, but now they were about to become a part of the sports team? How was she supposed to rid their school of these vermin when they would be an integrated part of the student body? That meant she had to endure them not only in class, not even only in her dorm (Thanks a lot, Topaz), but also at the last place where she prevailed.  
The gymnasium.  
Her Vixens and the Bulldogs had training at the same time which meant she now had to around these hideous, scarred visages 24/7.

Oh god, what if she was next and Weatherbee will make her take in some of the Serpents slags into the Vixens?

Cheryl felt her throat tighten and panic rise in her chest.

Was she about to have light panic attack or did she have a horror trip again?

She jumped slightly when she felt a hand gently place itself on her shoulder and relaxed into the touch when she saw that it was Josie who was standing next to her, a cautious expression plastered on her face.

Out of all her friends, Josie was one of the lucky ones with something you could almost describe as privileges since she was the only one Cheryl let her touch and sometimes even contradict her.

"Cheryl, what is your deal with the Serpents?," she slowly began. "I get that you despise them. As a matter of fact, we all do, but don't you think.. you're taking it a little too far?"

What her deal was? _What her fucking deal was?  
_Taking it too far?!

How naïvecould one be? Even going so far as _asking_ what her deal was an overbearingly impudence, Cheryl was about to explode with rage.

Yes, she was about to stand her ground and talk some sense into these four idiots, _hell_ , she could slap every one of them right here, right now for not supporting her on this matter.

But that required explaining herself, explaining her slightly unjustified hatred for the Serpents.  
A hatred that stirred solely from her beloved brother's premature, tragic death and in the condition she currently was is, she wasn't sure she could even utter his name without breaking down like the unstable, miserable wreck she was.

No, she wouldn't go there again. She had made it two days without crying already, she would not break her short, but strenuous streak of what little emotional stability she had and break down again.  
No, she wouldn't let herself think about Jason now.

He had to let her go at some point.

So she swallowed down her wrath and grief, released a breath she didn't realize she was holding and gave her friends an artificial smile, the squad visibly relaxing at her seemingly regained serenity.  
"I just don't appreciate having to share my school with hobos. That's all," she mustered as confident as possible, hoping no one noticed the slight crack in her voice.

_God, she really was unstable lately._

That must be this fake-ass JJ bullshit Reggie had bought. The goddamn idiot was even too stupid to buy drugs.

Cheryl sucked in a sharp breath as she internally talked herself into calming down. She couldn't let the Serpents get to her like that. She was Cheryl Blossom, she wouldn't lose her cool because of some illiterate thugs on motorcycles.

As she glanced at her watch, she suddenly felt some of the dark clouds in her mind roll by.

It was 4.40 pm which meant she had only twenty minutes left until her daily chores with Toni.

An unfamiliar warmth spread in her chest and a shy smile crept onto her lips at the thought of the pink-haired Serpent.  
She quickly gathered her things, suddenly in a rush to get out of here and eager to get to the janitor's tool shed.

Luckily the others were too buzzed by now to question her hurried exodus, or they simply didn't care enough to ask.  
Probably the latter. As always.

But that didn't matter, she had more important matters to attend, so she rushed out of the room and towards the football field, fighting the goofy grin on her face.

 _Wait, hold on._ She promptly came to a halt, when it dawned on her.

She wasn't actually looking forward to their chores with the girl, was she?

God, no.

**No, no, no.**

Cheryl convulsed slightly and discarded her previous thought.

 _Pfff,_ looking forward? To what? The crude, tedious Serpent with an ego so big it couldn't possibly fit into her small frame?

No, not a chance in hell. Cheryl scoffed to herself.

She just grew tired of Reggie's and Chuck's inane and insensitive manner and was thankful for the distraction, that's all.

She giggled a little too hysterically at the absurdity of her short-lived notion.  
  
She and the Serpent?

 

Absolutely ridiculous.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, oh, we all know Nick is bad news and Cheryl is a sucker for attention. ;))  
> So stay tuned, next chapter comes next week :)))


	8. The Tryout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cheryl accidentally brings Toni to a bold idea.  
> Toni wants to prove herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is. Sorry for the hiatus, i don't know a thing or two about dancing so that whole thing took a while haha ;) 
> 
> P.S: the song mentioned is called 'Wavey' by Alika and CliQ, in case you're interested.  
> And i took all my inspiration from Maddie Ziegler's choreography of the song

 

 

"You're late, Cha-Cha," Cheryl stated indifferently, not bothering to look up from her phone.

Toni came to a halt in front of the tool shed where they were supposed to meet Mr. Russell.  
She catched her breath and fixed her hair as she glanced at her phone.

"Gee, it's 5.02 pm. Give a girl a break, will you?"

Of course, Cheryl was one to be over punctual. _Nerd._

Still not looking up, the other girl scoffed, but looked genuinely amused.

"Whatev."

"Afternoon, ladies," the janitor rounded the corner and greeted them with a smug grin. _Ugh._

"Soo, today, y'all be doing some gardening, like cutting the hedges and all. Uh, I guess you're familiar," he sneered at them, revealing his brown, tobacco-stained teeth, "with _scissors_?"

He grunted as he chuckled about his not-so-appropriate, salacious innuendo whilst Cheryl and Toni simultaneously turned their heads to exchange a discreet disgusted look as both tried to contain their laughter.

"We sure do know how to handle sharp objects, yes" Toni retorted coldly.

"Uhm, alright then. C'mon then."

They crossed the campus and walked towards the enormous street that was RHBS's private driveway as the janitor barked his instructions of how he wanted the hedges to look like. After a short and sluggish tutorial he trotted back to the school as quickly as he came.

"Uhm, gross much?" Toni asked after the man was out of earshot.

"I know right. The guy is a total sleazeball."

The two girls made their way towards the hedgerows that flanked the street and got to work.

Each standing on opposite sites of the hedge facing each other as they started trimming the bush.

Toni soon noticed Cheryl focusing a little too much on their chores as she forcefully carved up the poor hedge like it was her own kind of personal vendetta against the plant.

Who knows, maybe Cheryl had a problem with all living organisms? Toni, for her part, would not be surprised if the redhead turned out to hate plants now as well.

After a few moments of silence and the steady rhythm of Cheryl cutting the branches with a loud, energetic snap, Toni finally dared to look up and study the girl's face. She looked tense, her brows furrowed in concentration as she stared the hedge in front of her down.

_Was that her concentrated face or did she have another unexpected mood swing and was back to being pissed again?_

Her head suddenly snapped up, her cold unforgiving eyes fixating Toni.

"What is it, you git?"

_Alright, that answered Toni's question._

She shook her head dismissively as she decided to leave the redhead alone for now and instead focus on cutting the hedge again.

What a boring, monotonous work was that anyway? Trimming hedges in a straight line? Did Riverdale High not have some fancy gardening machine or some advanced lawn mower that could do that? They definitely did have enough money, so that could not be it. Or it was probably that greasy, disgusting janitor who spied on them from afar and just wanted to see them get sweaty. Super gross.

"You missed one. Right."

Cheryl's voice ripped her out of her thoughts and Toni's head perked up to find the redhead staring at her with an impatient, expectant expression.

"What?"

The ginger rolled her eyes.

"You missed a branch," she repeated slowly as if Toni was mentally challenged. "On the right."

Missed a branch? Toni scanned the hedge in front of them in search for the twig in question.

"Huh? Where?" Did she mean Toni's right or her right? The hedge was perfectly even. There was no protruding branch in sight.

"Dear God, ON THE RIGHT, Toni," Cheryl barked irritably when Toni couldn't find it immediately.

"Right! You know right? Like the hand you hold your discount beer with."

She pointed on a tiny little twig on Toni's right in an excessive manner.

"See?!"

That girl really was an insufferable perfectionist. That or she just wanted to bicker at Toni again.  
She decided to once again ignore Cheryl's spiteful comment and turned her attention to the little branch and cut it.

"First of all, that's not even a twig, more like a leaf and second, what's up your ass today? Did Starbucks run out of Pumpkin Spice Latte?" she teased.

"First of all," Cheryl mocked her, "i'm not your basic white bitch, i seldom go to Starbucks" (That was a lie, Cheryl lived for her Latte, but she wouldn't admit that, of course.) "And second," she let out an annoyed sigh, "not that it would be any of your concern, but Weatherbee wants the Bulldogs to take in a few of your hounds into the team"

Toni raised her eyebrows as she took in Cheryl's words.

"And?"

"And that is unacceptable! Our superb school has won the annual Franklin County Football competition three years in a row and we do not intend to break our prideful streak."

 _Oh dear god, the arrogance_.  
She made it sound like she alone was responsible for this victory.

"And besides, does your rabble know that playing football requires discipline and sticking to certain _rules,_ not that you have ever heard of such things, no doubt."

Come to think of it, the Serpents playing football actually sounded like a good idea. Toni knew that some of them, Sweet Pea and Fangs above all, loved football and have been playing in the trailer park ever since they were little kids and later for their school's team, although that did not last long....  
But either way, it would certainly do them good to channel their energy into sports.

"I know how little you think of us, Cheryl, but why don't you give it a chance before you judge? Some of the guys are really passionate when it comes to sports and may i remind you that we had a football team at Southside High as well?"

"Oh yes, i definitely know all about your troop of slackers that called themselves a 'football team'" she made air quotations to stress the ludicrousness of the whole notion as if it hadn't been obvious already.

"So tell me, Toni, is it a common practice to stab your opponents in the stomach, one that i happen to never have heard of or is that exclusively a Southside thing? Please, enlighten me."

Of course, she knew about _that_ incident.  
It was last year during a match against Alberg High - the school the Ghoulies go to and thus their nemesis school - that one of these thugs pulled out a brass knuckle and lashed out at Sweets and the game had escalated and _somehow_ it ended in one of the Ghoulies getting stabbed in the stomach.  
_What a shame._

But of course, Cheryl, being the upper class elitist she was, would take this as a reason to discredit the Serpents _yet again_ as violent criminals.

"Well, technically," Toni drawled, "we didn't start it, the Ghoulies did and this may come as a shock to you, but we actually do know how to behave and yes we may have heard of such things as rules. So why don't you give us a chance?"

She gave the redhead a hopeful smile as she studied her face but the girl averted her gaze, instead focusing on the hedge again.

"Can't wait to see that."

"You still don't believe me, huh? You have already formed your opinion about us and are not ready to change that, let alone allow us to become a part of your sacred sports teams," Toni grumbled.

"Don't you play the prejudice card on me, Cha-Cha. I just know for a fact that you scapegraces don't have it in you to participate in serious school sports," Cheryl retorted, the bite in her voice becoming more and more evident.

A bold or rather reckless idea suddenly sparked in Toni and before she could think twice, she blurted out,

"Okay, then let me try out for cheerleading."

She immediately bit her tongue at the same time Cheryl started to chuckle snarkily.

Did she really just ask to be a part of the cheerleaders?  _Cheryl's_ cheerleaders? Being around the she-devil in person even more? Running around in ridiculously short skirts, waving around pom-poms?

Was that really a good idea? Toni highly doubted it, but there was no turning back now.

"I'm serious. Let me at least try out."

"Oh please," Cheryl lowered the hedge shears to throw her a snide look.

"As if _you_ could ever become a River Vixen."

Toni followed suit and raised her eyebrows mischievously.  
She didn't want to get in yet another catfight with the other girl, especially if the redhead had sharp objects within reach, so she might as well lighten up the mood a bit.

"Really, Bombshell? Is that a dare?"

"Sorry, Cha-Cha, but cheerleading is no picnic and i very much doubt that you have what it takes."

"You wanna bet again? Because if i recall correctly you lost the last one and still me owe me a milkshake."

Another eyeroll.

"Don't remind me."

"Come on, how hard can it be?"

"I'm being serious, you don't want this. I expect perfection and i have trained my Vixens _par excellence._ So you might want to reconsider your little... _project_."

She waved her hand dismissively as if Toni was a toddler and they were talking about some kindergarten excursion.

"Well, then let me convince you of my skills," Toni smiled at her, eliciting another eye roll from the redhead.

"You want to prove yourself?" Cheryl hesitated and then suddenly straightened up.

"Fine then. Tomorrow in the gym at 2pm and NOT a second later and _oh-_ " she gave her a derogative up and down and pointed at her black crop top and ripped shorts,

"don't wear.. _that._ "

"Why? Would it distract the HBIC?"

Cheryl grunted and crossed her arms, "you know, i've been meaning to ask you how that enormous ego fits in that teeny-tiny body of yours?"

"Heey," Toni fake pouted and laid her hedge trimmers aside as well.

"I'm not that small, okay? I'm 1,60m and besides, you're not exactly a beanstalk yourself."

"Sorry, Smurfette, 1,60m IS small. Period. And for the record i'm 1,67m. The same height as Marilyn Monroe, may i add." she smiled proudly as she flipped her hair.

"Oh wooow, i'm so jealous" Toni beamed in faux excitement, "i, too, desire to be like an overly-sexualized drug addict who died too young."

"No need to be bitter, Topaz."

"Whatev'," Toni mocked her previous words and turned to leave. "Gotta go!"

"Hey! Where are you going?" Cheryl's head perked up with an expression that looked slightly like disappointment as she shouted after Toni. "We still have half an hour left."

"Sorry, gotta prepare my audition for tomorrow," the Serpent turned around mid-walking and made sure to sway her hips seductively. "In case these aren't persuading enough. Besides, i'm sure you'll be fine trimming the bushes without me," she added with a wink.

As soon as she was out of earshot, she pulled out her phone and dialed Fangs' number.

"Fogarty, i need a killer-ass dance routine ASAP."

 

 

–

 

Being the gloating, spiteful minx she was (and to add some extra pressure), Cheryl made sure to invite as many people as possible, to Toni's audition.

You know, just to see how well the Serpentine could perform under pressure and because, well, she thoroughly was a bitch.

The gym and the bleachers were rather full, the Vixens were seated on the benches and Cheryl could even make out some Serpents on the bleachers and flinched upon the sight.

It must be nice to have people support her on this, even it was something as trivial as a cheerleading tryout.

Cheryl couldn't help but wonder if her parents had ever showed up to one of her performance or if her mother ever will. Not Jason though, he never missed one of her gigs, always standing in the first row, cheering her on the loudest.

She gulped visibly at the memory of Jason and pushed the thought aside, swallowing it down like a bitter pill and glanced at her watch impatiently.

**1.56pm.**

If there was one thing Cheryl hated more than carbs, then it was unpunctuality. And if the Serpent had the audacity to show up late for training before she even was a Vixen..  
Well, okay, Cheryl was gonna reject her either way regardless of her performance.

The River Vixens simply was no place for a Serpent, but there was no harm in enjoying a show. This would be hilarious and she would seize the opportunity to emphasize her uncontested authority and put the Serpents in their place. And what better way was there to combine those two than to let one of the Serpentines deliver her little dance and than talk her down in front of the whole school?

After waiting in anticipation, the girl turned her head to see Toni walk out of the locker and plant herself in front of the cheerleaders.

She studied her features with a gloating grin in search of any kinds of insecurities that she could feed off later, but soon realized that Toni seemed to be rather confident.

_Conceited tramp._

She threw Cheryl an expectant look, wordlessly waiting for her signal to go-ahead.

After a curt nod from the HBIC, Toni beckoned to Fangs who started the speakers and the music started to fill the room. Cheryl immediately recognized the song as _'Wavey'_ and Toni promptly started to move.

Consistent to the rather slow build-up of the song, she started with some slow-ish moves - but not any less sensual – roaming her body with her hands and swaying her hips in an _oh so seductive_ manner, Cheryl could feel her eyes widen involuntarily.

She continued her enticing dance moves for a moment, before the bass set in at the same time she winked at Cheryl, causing the latter to scorch furiously.  
Has it always been so hot in here?

_So let me tell you like this.  
I'm who you're looking for, I'm the wiz. _

The music filled the whole gym as all eyes were glued on Toni who by now was completely in her element, swayed her hips like she was born to do it and moved her body along to the music in a way Cheryl didn't know was humanely possible.

She hated to admit it, but the girl really had moves and definitively experience – that or she was gifted with a God-given talent.  
The nature of her dance moves resembled some hip-hop like street dance, but there was something elegant, even fragile resonating from the way she moved and Cheryl couldn't help but wonder how and where she developed that unique, distinctive dance style.

 _You ain't seen another like this._  
_There ain't no one to do what i did._  
_There ain't no one to do it like i._

Toni lay down on the floor, brought her leg up and arched her back, causing her shirt to slide up and expose even more tanned skin.

Cheryl felt like she was running out of air.

 _I changed the game, i changed your whole life.  
_ _I'm irreplaceable, that's no lie._

She did half a roll, now laying on her stomach and stretched out that well-shaped ass of hers as she beguilingly grinded the floor to the upbeat rhythm.

Some of the boys on the bleachers whistled and hollered obscenities, but were quickly silenced by Cheryl's death glare.  
Annoyed about the distraction, she quickly turned her attention to the girl in front of her again.

 _Been toking on the green, I'm so high.  
_ _Yeah, stamina, hit a quick pose for the camera._

Toni erotically straightened up and did an impressive cartwheel, followed by an Arabesque and some twerking while she slowly raked her hands through her pink and brown hair and Cheryl had to suppress the urge to walk up to her and do the same.

Oh, what she would give to feel these soft strands flowing trough her fingers just once...

She then turned her head around and searched for the redhead's eyes, throwing her - and only her - a sultry, cheeky smile that Cheryl involuntarily returned, albeit trying her hardest to appear bored, hoping she didn't blush like an idiot this time.

_Imma make you get high, get lit, get drunk, get wavey._

Before she knew it, the song started to fade and Toni ended her choreography with a flawless pirouette, followed by splits and remained in this position for a moment, awaiting the audience's and especially Cheryl's response.

Fangs and Sweet Pea were the first to break the silence and stood up from their seats, loudly cheering and clapping. Slowly but steadily the rest of the gym followed suit and within a minute the whole crowd was clapping and whistling.

Cheryl was too petrified to join in on the jubilation, not that she wanted to anyway, of course, but she realized that all eyes turned to her, once the clapping had died down.

She could feel the expectant and burning gazes in her back as her own eyes were still set on Toni, unable to move elsewhere.

After what felt like an infinitely long moment of silence and staring, Josie awkwardly cleared her throat.

"Uhm.. so? What do you think, Cheryl?"

Cheryl hesitated for a second as she tried to clear her mind.

She _wanted_ to say No.

She wanted to turn her down, tell her that her beloved Vixens squad was not a field trip for strays, but the way the sweat dripped down Toni's toned stomach (why did she feel the need to tie a knot in the Vixens shirt anyway?) clouded Cheryl's mind and dried up her mouth and she didn't trust her tongue to come up with anything other than stuttering and choking, so she teared her hungry eyes away from Toni's abs (of course, she had to have abs) and roamed her gaze slowly upwards over her well-filled chest, that was so delicately lifting up and down from the exhausting dance, over slowly to her face.

Trying to come up with a snarky remark, she pressed her lips into a thin line, hoping she didn't look as flustered as she felt right now.

And because she couldn't think about anything other than the things Toni did with her hips just one minute ago, she just grumbled dismissively in a pathetic attempt to sound as unimpressed as humanely possible by that _oh so mediocre_ performance.

She shook off all deviant thoughts that currently occupied the mind and put her index finger to her chin, pretending to be deep in thought.

Meanwhile Toni's hopeful smile began to falter, the more time passed by.

"Mhh, i don't know."

"Come on, Cheryl, she killed it." Veronica stepped forward.

"I beg your pardon, Veronica? The last time i checked _I_ was the HBIC, not _you._ And just to refresh your memory, the IC stands for: IN. CHARGE," she drawled, fire laced in her voice.

She scanned Toni one last time, but quickly averted her gaze for fear of blushing and turned her attention to the Vixens, a dozen faces staring at her, awaiting her response.

She suddenly _wanted_ Toni on the team, needed, craved her, but she didn't want to suffer the ignominy of caving in.

That would be indirectly admitting that a Serpent was indeed able to meet her standards and that was the last thing Cheryl wanted. So she skilfully delegated the responsibility of deciding.

"But since you potato heads are all _that_ impressionable and because i'm a fair leader, of course, we put it to a vote then," she sighed.

"All those who object to the Serpent joining our squad?"

She was met with silence.

With an overly-annoyed groan the redhead asked, "all those in favour?"

The whole fucking squad raised their hands, well not the _whole_ squad, a few apostates, like Tina and Ginger, these cowards, abstained - probably for fear of Cheryl's disapproval since it was no secret how much she loathed the Serpents.

With one last artificial eye roll she turned to face Toni as she tried to suppress the proud grin that threatened to make its way on Cheryl's lips.

"Congratulations, Serpentine, you're in."

Without awaiting the Serpent's response (and because she was in a desperate need for a cold shower), she turned on her heel to leave and hastily crossed the square.

When she reached the door, she turned around and threw Toni, who was still watching her intently with an expression somewhere between confusion and cautious reverence, a telling smile over her shoulder.

"Don't blow it, Cha-Cha."

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cheryl is becoming whipped lol  
> Tell me what you want to happen next (:


	9. Denial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toni hates this tingly feeling she gets when she thinks about her Cheryl.  
> The latter is not making it easier for her in the locker room.

 

"Tiny!"

Toni turned her back to Veronica and Betty who were eagerly congratulating her on her dance and successfully making it on the team and instead turned towards the familiar voice, only to be embraced in a tight hug before she was given a chance to react.

Fangs hugged her tightly, followed by Sweets, both boys looking at her like super proud parents.

"Toni, no kidding, you killed it!"

"Agreed, that was awesome."

Toni freed herself from the embrace before she ran out of air and felt herself smiling at the two idiots.

"Thank you, guys. I'm really glad you were here. I wouldn't have made it without you, especially your help with the choreo, Fangs."

"I hardly did anything," Fangs waved his hand in false modesty. "That was all you."

"It was teamwork," Toni insisted. "And i knew the only way to impress Cheryl was with an original Fogarty choreography."

"Speaking of the succubus, have you seen her face? She was reeeal pissed," Sweet Pea drawled with a smug grin.

"Like actually fuming. It was hilarious."

"Oh yes, man, that was impossible to miss," Fangs nudged him and both boys started to chuckle as Toni rolled her eyes and uncapped her water bottle.  
The last thing she wanted to do was think about the redhead even more than she already did, let alone talk about her with her friends, no matter how strange she acted.

"Seriously, she got so red, i couldn't tell if she wanted to fuck or strangle you."

Toni nearly choked on her water at Fangs' comment and felt her cheeks burning.

"Probably the latter," she mumbled, trying not to sound disappointed.

Was Cheryl really that affected by her dance? Of course Toni hadn't missed the flustered look on her face when she winked at her, but she wasn't sure whether to interpret it as agitation or anger. Lately, Toni found it surprisingly amusing to tease the girl – as it seemed to really drive her up the walls – but she hadn't expected it to go anywhere.  
Not that she wanted it to obviously, but still....

"If you look close enough, Toni, you can see her eye twitch whenever you're near her."

"Okay, enough now. Shove it, Sweets." Toni smacked his arm a tad too hard, hoping the guys would finally drop the topic, but it remained a vain attempt.

"Just stating the obvious, T. There is some heavy tension between you two. Not sure if it's a good one, tho."

"Oh my god, you guys are the worst," Toni groaned and stood up to leave.  
"I'm gonna go change now before you pervs get even more heated up about your lesbo fantasy... which by the way is super far-fetched and completely unthinkable."

Fangs and Sweet Pea exchanged suggestive glances before they both grinned at Toni.  
"We didn't say anything about that. We were obviously only referring to the bad blood between the two of you," Fangs replied with a shit-eating grin and Toni felt like she could slap both of them senseless right now.

"I.. uh.. ah, screw you guys! Bye now."

 _Goddamn idiots._  
She bailed before the two guys could get even more in her head about that whole confusing Cheryl thing and darted towards the locker rooms, following – her now _fellow_ Vixens.

Now that the adrenaline from the audition had weaned off and she had successfully made it into 'the squad', she allowed herself to review what had happened and how the hell she became an actual cheerleader.  
If you had told her two weeks ago, she would be rehearsing her ass off in order to impress the fiend in the flesh and her preppy cheerleading squad, Toni would have laughed in your face and called you insane.

But here she was, now a member of these preppy River Vixens, and of course, she would never admit it to herself, let alone out loud, but inwardly Toni was making excited frisks, secretly looking forward to the stuff she would have dismissed as Northside-bullshit just a few days ago. And no, that had nothing to do with Cheryl.

Growing up surrounded by boys was great of course, but sometimes Toni missed doing... _girly_ things. She loved Fangs and Sweet Pea and all the other guys, but she couldn't help but wish for a girl friend once in while to talk to and do all the things she couldn't do with the guys, like make-up and cheerleading. 

_Oh god, she started to sound like one of these Northside prisses already._

She cringed at the thought of the effect this whole school and its people held over her in such a short time span and hurried towards the girls' changing rooms.

 

 

When she opened the door, she was greeted with a flood of warm damp coming from the showers and the sight of none other than the squad leader that so rudely refused to leave her mind lately, standing in the middle of the locker room surrounded by three of her minions whose names Toni didn't even bother to learn.

Seemingly fresh out of the shower, the redhead was wrapped in an outrageously short towel and Toni's gaze immediately dropped to her gorgeous, pale legs and roamed over her body, trying to take in every inch of her still moist skin.

She was so deepened in the beauty that was Cheryl Blossom, that she didn't notice said girl turn her head to address her and the other Vixens.

"Just in time. I was just about to reiterate our Vixen's policy," she declared in her usual high-chipper voice.

"Rules that, alas, now apply to you as well. So you ought to listen up now, Topaz."

Mentally preparing herself for another display of power, Toni crossed her arms and gave her a challenging smirk,  
"You have my undivided attention."

"Excellent. Rule number one: We train at least 90 minutes every day from Monday to Friday before first period or in the afternoon. That depends."

She squinted and fixated Toni with her gaze, her eyes darkening dangerously.

"Rule number two: I have a zero tolerance policy for laziness, meaning if you don't give 200% at training or even skip training just once, you're off the team. Effective immediately."

Eyes still locked on her, Cheryl started to cross the room and slowly walked towards Toni who stood in place, silently anticipating and curious about the redhead's intentions this time.

"Rule number three and the most important one,"  
she drawled as she came to a halt a few inches in front of Toni's face and leaned in, causing her to unintentionally hold her breath.

" _I_ am the undisputed Head Bitch In Charge. _I_ hold the _carte blanche_. _I_ make the rules and _I_ enforce them. _I_ decide what we do, when and how. If i say 'jump', you don't question it, you silently comply.  _Compris_?"

She was standing so close now that Toni could make out the rosy smell of her shampoo and her eyes involuntarily dropped to Cheryl's lips for a moment before she looked up to meet the girl's gaze, her dark eyes dripping with agitation and lust for power.

Of course, this was another one of Cheryl's tireless attempts to intimidate her and since she was a spoilt Northsider and Toni a deprived Southsider, the rational, less hormone-driven voice in her head told Toni to stand up and put her in her place, but _goddamn_ Cheryl looked so hot right now (It really should be a crime to look and smell _that_ good), Toni couldn't bring herself to it.

So, before she could do or say something on reckless impulse, she gave her a cheeky half-grin and made a two-finger salute, "Capiche, captain."

She then promptly turned her back to the redhead and walked to the nearest bench to change, intending to get out of here as soon as possible and clear her head.

She shouldn't think about Cheryl like that. Hell, she shouldn't even _look_ at her. Toni knew all too well what pretty girls like Cheryl Blossom could do to her tiny heart. If she didn't pay attention, she would develop yet another unrequited crush and that would lead to heartache and sadness and God knows Toni didn't need any more of that in her life.

And besides, it's not like she had a realistic chance with the girl anyway. For all she knew, Cheryl was as straight as a ruler, not to mention her never ending vendetta against the Serpents and her hatred for everything the Southside spawned.

But on the other hand, what harm could a little flirting do? It's not like Toni was actually falling for her or anything. No, of course not, that was absolutely ridiculous. She just really enjoyed teasing her, that's all.

So, she turned her head to dare one last peek to satisfy her hungry eyes, only to find that the redhead had followed her and was now standing – dangerously close – next to her, watching her absentmindedly.

"Uhm.. What is it exactly that you're doing?"

Cheryl hold her gaze for a moment before she ripped her eyes off Toni and turned towards the dark red locker in front of her.

Toni hasn't been quite able to see, but she could have sworn she saw a small, somewhat dreamy smile on Cheryl's lips before the girl had the chance to compose herself and answered nonchalantly,  
"Why, i'm merely getting my clothes out off my locker to change, dummie."

Toni suppressed the urge to slap her forehead when it dawned on her.  
_Naturally_ , out of all the free benches in this enormous locker room, Toni had to chose the one right next to Cheryl's locker (as if the colour hadn't given away enough, considering how all other lockers were dark blue). She bit her lip as she weighed her options .

Should she go to another bench?

No, that would make things weird.

But she couldn't change right next to Cheryl either. No, she would probably be uncomfortable with that and it certainly wouldn't help Toni's... _situation._  
Wait, why the hell not? They were roommates, they were both girls and nobody was getting naked. It's not like Toni had never seen another girl in her underwear so why was she making such a fuss?

It was no big deal. Just getting dressed. Right next to each other. Standing two feet apart.  
No Biggie.

So why was she overthinking again?  
And besides, it's not like Toni was checking her out or anything.  
She just knew how to appreciate beauty.

And Cheryl Blossom happened to be extraordinarily beautiful.

"I know this whole attending-an-actual-school concept is still foreign to you," Cheryl drawled, pulling Toni out of her thoughts, "and TBH, i wouldn't be surprised if you didn't know how to read the clock, but i've got places to be, so i would highly appreciate it if you hurried up and started to get dressed instead of drooling over me."

Realizing she had stood there dumbfounded for probably two minutes, while the other girls were already gone, Toni hastily took her fresh clothes out off her backpack and started to get dressed. She couldn't help but notice that Cheryl was now only wearing underwear - a lacy red bra and matching panties - so far making no move to get on some actual clothes, but instead lazily fixing her makeup in her mirror, seemingly unfazed by the previously mentioned hurry she allegedly was in.

Toni however, was quick to get out of her Vixens uniform, placed it carefully in her backpack and put on her jeans.  
She quickly scanned the locker room, but saw that it was now completely empty, her and Cheryl being the last ones to get dressed.

She didn't take the girl for the tardy kind, so why was she still here with her?

Just when Toni discarded the thought and bent down to straighten out a wrinkle on her trousers, she felt a warm, light touch graze her bare shoulder, sending shivers down her spine.  
She felt a gasp get stuck in her throat as her eyes shot up to see Cheryl having 'accidentally' brushed her with her arm as she put on her skirt.

Slowly - almost as if she wanted to mess with Toni's mind - she lifted her chin to meet Toni's burning gaze with a chaste smile and breathed out a "Sorry."

Her voice was raspy and sultry and her eyes mirrored the same lust in Toni's, causing her to doubt if the touch really was accidental.

_Was she flirting now?_

"I don't mind. Like, at all," Toni faced her with a smug grin, seizing the opportunity to take a quick, subtle peek at Cheryl who promptly followed suit and turned towards the Serpent, eyeing her body curiously and far less discreet than Toni just did.

_Alright, Fuck it._

If Cheryl was hell-bent on playing this weird hate-flirting slash fight for dominance game, she might as well go with it and fire back.

"See something you like?" she asked boldly, hoping the Innuendo to their morning encounter two days ago was not lost on Cheryl who luckily caught on immediately and replied with a mischievous smile,  
"You wish, Sappho. We don't play in the same league, remember?"

Toni noticed the attempted spite in Cheryl's words, but was not fooled for a second.  
The hungry eyes and the cheeky smile on Cheryl's lips spoke a whole different language.

"That's truly a shame," she replied, now letting her eyes dangerously flit down Cheryl's body.

"'cause i could really could get used to this sight."

She watched her intently, taking in her features as the redhead's composed facade fell for a split second, her mouth opening and closing again, before she recomposed herself and faced her locker again.

"Don't get used to it, gyppo. Let's see how long you'll last here."

With that, the head cheerleader quickly threw on her blouse and turned on her heel, leaving an oddly aroused and flustered Toni behind.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was kinda short, sorry about that, BUT i already have big plans for the next ones ;))


	10. Fun and Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cheryl is having a genuinely good time, being sober for a change.  
> Toni happens to be the reason for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like this chapter, my loves.  
> BIG things are about to happen.

 

"Gardening? Again?" Cheryl asked, not bothering to hide her annoyance.

After their.. _interesting_ encounter in the locker room Cheryl and Toni have made their way to the tool shed to meet with the janitor for their daily chores which, much to her chagrin, had to be garden work again.  
She couldn't stand working outside. The sun was not good for her pale skin (sun was the number one cause for skin ageing and wrinkles, after all), the heat affected her already.. _stricken_ condition and the last she wanted was to faint in front of Toni again, not to mention all the sweating.  
_Super gross._

"Don't you have something different for us to do?"

"I mean, if you don't like gardening, there are always enough toilets that need to be cleaned," the janitor replied equally annoyed.  
"No, no, gardening is fine," Toni cut in, silencing the other girl with a stern glare, "We'll do it."

Cheryl groaned excessively and threw her hands up in defeat before reluctantly trudging after Toni and Mr. Russell.

 

"So, what i need you to do," the man explained as they walked over the campus," is rake the leaves that fell from the trees, water the plants and just cocker the garden up a bit. It's been awfully dry this October, so yeah, that's all, actually. After that you're free to go."

He lead the girl behind the football field to what Riverdale High referred to as 'school garden', but in reality it was a more like a miserable accumulation of plants that together yield a sad sight of a neglected, overgrown garden. Cheryl figured its maintenance fell within the janitor's remit, but he obviously showed no interest in caring for it and was now thankful to pass the task onto Cheryl and Toni.

Realizing she never acknowledged the garden either, since it was fair way off and somewhat hidden from sight behind some trees, she glanced around.  
The garden was symmetrically arranged, they were four long rows of raised beds, each bed being planted with a respective plant variety, although Cheryl couldn't quite tell what most of the plant remnants were supposed to be.  
She spotted what she thought were sunflowers, ornamental pumpkins and something that remotely resembled lettuce. After it's been left in the sun for two weeks. And molded.  
On the left side of the flower and vegetable beds were some chestnut trees and a beautiful rose bush with somewhat puny roses on it that immediately caught Cheryl's eye. She made a mental note to cosset them up and fertilize them a little later.

On the other side of the beds was the garden shed, behind it another row of fruit trees and a little pond that even had some water lillies on it.

Come to think of it, the garden was indeed not hopeless, just a little savaged.

A little much. But still.

"The rakes and the other tools are over there in the tool shed, the garden hoses right behind it. A'ight. Any questions, ladies? No? Get to work then, see ya in two hours."

The janitor didn't even wait for their replies before he turned around and stomped towards the school building again, scratching his ass midway.

"Lovely!" Toni made a grimace as the girls watched the older man leave, "How is he possibly still single?"

"I know right. How could any lady say no to _that?_ " Cheryl retorted and motioned her hand up and down towards the guy.

"I really have no clue," Toni chuckled and shook her head. "Alright, you heard the man. Let's get to work."

They walked through the rows of patches and flower pots towards the tool shed in silence, whilst Cheryl appreciated the garden a little more.

Sure, it was unkempt, but not at all hopeless and even Cheryl couldn't deny it had a certain beauty to it.

If someone bothered to put a bit effort into it, it could turn out beautiful.

"I like it here," she suddenly spoke up, taking herself and Toni by surprise, who turned around with a raised eyebrow.  
"It's remote but not too far away," Cheryl explained. "And quiet and peaceful."  
She never appreciated the garden but found that she took a shine to it.

"Yeah," Toni now glanced around as well.  
"It really is. Very different from the rest of RHBS, too. Less preppy and ostentatious."

Somehow Cheryl wasn't bothered by her comment about her beloved school, but instead silently agreed. The haute veneer that both she and her school tried to uphold was simply just that; A veneer.

Just like her school, Cheryl wasn't just a pretty facade. There was more to her than the big front she put up. They were ugly spots and flaws but also sorrow and feelings and so far nobody had bothered to look behind the cold walls of stone where her heart lay.  
Just as neglected and abandoned as the little garden in front of her was.  
Cheryl chuckled sadly to herself at her parallels to RHBS.

Years after not being cared for, but instead being mistreated and trampled on, took its toll.

On both the garden and her heart;

It wasn't dead yet, but not exactly alive either.

"So, where do we start?"

Cheryl tore her gaze from the plants and saw that Toni was watching her with a patient smile as she had zoned out.

"Watering. Let's bring this thing back to life again."

They both took one garden hose from the tool shed and got to work, Toni insisting on watering the flowers and Cheryl the vegetables because apparently she could 'do less damage to them'.

Before Cheryl had the chance to sulk and ask what that was supposed to mean, Toni turned around with a grin and walked towards the flower pots on the other side of Cheryl's assigned vegetable bed.

"For the sake of our domestic peace, I decided to ignore that remark," Cheryl playfully glared at her.

"Oh, why, thanks a lot," Toni chuckled as she turned on the hose and tenderly watered the half-dead flowers, Cheryl watching in awe as she made sure to give each one the same amount of attention and devotion.  
"And it wasn't exactly a remark," she added after a while. "I just happen to have a green thumb and a heart for plants, whereas I wouldn't... trust you with living beings – no offence."

"I beg to differ," Cheryl clutched her heart in faux-vexation, "I do have a heart for all living beings."

It was true. She didn't like showing it or letting other people know, but Cheryl was very compassionate when it came to, say animals for example. Ever since she was a little kid, she had wished for a dog, but of course was never granted one and instead made sure to donate a good sum of money to the local animal shelters every then and now.

"Uhm, judging by the way you took your anger out on the poor hedge yesterday and straight up mutilated it, I dare to question that."

"Okay, first, were you staring at me again? And second, very rightfully so. My anger was more than justified."

"First, no, i wasn't staring, but you mangling the hedge was hard to ignore. I almost felt sorry for the plant. And second, you can't tell me you still don't want us on your sports team. You gotta admit, we are pretty good at sports."

"I'd rather abstain from commenting on that," Cheryl replied smugly as she knelt down to carefully water the vegetables.

"And I do have heart," she mumbled sulkily more to herself than to Toni.  
Even though she took great pride in her cold-hearted Queen Bee persona, doesn't mean Toni's comment didn't stung.

"I know, Bombshell. I was only kidding. In fact, I think you have a really big heart, you're just having trouble showing this side of yours."

That took her by surprise and Cheryl felt her head shoot up.

What did she just say?

Was she being _empathetic_ with _her_?

Cheryl didn't know whether she should be grateful or offended, but curtly opted for the latter and tried to come up with a bitchy remark to shut this weird emotional crap down before it could go any further.

She didn't need anybody's pity. After all, she had spent years building up her walls and wouldn't let one Serpent get close to her. 

Ignoring the warmth in her probably rosy cheeks, she tried to bash the other girl's attempt at empathy, but her throat tightened, a lump blocking every curse word that floated in her mind, unwilling to come out.

Toni noticed Cheryl's loss for words and awkwardly cleared her throat.

"I mean, you let me join your cheerleading squad. That speaks for your character," she cautiously explained and Cheryl suddenly dismissed every spiteful remark when she saw the warm smile Toni was giving her.

Admittedly, she wasn't mad or offended. She _wanted_ to be angry, but she couldn't.  
Not at Toni.

"Where did you learn to dance like that anyway?" She asked, partly trying to change the subject, but mainly because that question has been burning on her tongue for the last three hours.

"Aha! So, you DID like it?" Toni gleefully raised her head like a child that just won an argument and Cheryl couldn't contain her smile at the sight.

"I didn't say that," she replied, trying to sound convinced, "I was only wondering which gibbon with spastic paralysis you got your dance moves from."

Toni obviously wasn't fooled by the insult, but silently accepted the preceded compliment and replied with a cheeky grin, "My mom actually."

She lowered the hose and gazed into the distance, her smile subsiding to a somewhat sad smile.

"She always wanted to be a ballet and music teacher and taught me everything I know every since I was a toddler."

"Where is she now?" Cheryl asked curiously.

"She... died when I was 10. Overdosed," Toni shrugged like it was no big deal, but Cheryl could clearly make out the pain in Toni's voice.

She watched her intently, waiting for her to continue.

"I'm sorry, Toni," she offered sympathetically. She knew all too well what it was like to lose someone you love.

"No need to be. She dug her own grave. Putting drugs before her own family."  
She glanced at Cheryl for a brief moment before lowering her gaze, then shook her head and huffed,  
"Sorry, I don't even know why I'm telling you this. It really is a mood killer."

"No, no, no," Cheryl insisted. She could listen to Toni all day, eager to learn everything about her past and family.  
"It's not a mood killer. And I know what it feels like, so please, continue."

"Another time, Bombshell... But thank you anyways, I guess," she teased her again and Cheryl got the hint to drop the topic.  
She didn't want to cross a line and push the other girl into talking if she didn't feel like it. So she just returned the smile and turned her attention to the vegetables again, taking in what Toni just told her.  
Call it cheesy, but the fact that Toni confided in her with something so personal filled her with delight. People never trusted her with anything - well mostly because she tried to sponge up all kind of juicy, intimate information about people to use it against them - but still, this was a nice change.

After a few moments of comfortable silence, both deepened in their respective garden work, Toni suddenly spoke up again,

"Do you have your cell phone with you?"

Confused about the nature of the question she paused, but figured she might as well brighten the mood a little and roll with it.

"Why? Do you want to capture my beauty through a photo?" Cheryl arched her shoulders back and smiled haughtily, eliciting a chuckle from Toni and was kind of proud that she was the reason for it.

"Something like that," Toni smiled as innocently as she could, "Give it to me."

Cheryl squinted at her, the suspicion evident in her expression, but complying nonetheless, putting down her garden hose and slowly walking over to where Toni was standing.

"I know that is probably the most expensive things you have ever hold in your hands, so please don't run off with it. That wouldn't be very smart." Cheryl warned, warily handing Toni her phone.  
"Because I happen to know where you live," she added with a giggle, causing Toni to snicker again.

"Cheryl, not every Serpent is a criminal," she rebuked her playfully as she put Cheryl's phone in the inner pocket of her jacket, lifted the garden hose and pointed it at Cheryl with a sadistic smile.

"But you can't trust a snake nevertheless."  
Cheryl's smile faltered as it dawned on her what Toni was up to.  
"Topaz! Don't you dare."

"Why not?" Toni asked sheepishly as she carefully placed her fingers on the garden hose's trigger, still pointing dangerously at Cheryl.

Cheryl inconspicuously looked around and spotted her own garden hose about three meters behind her.  
If only she could distract the Serpent for a moment, then she could grab it and would be armed as well.

"Because.. i.. uhm..," she slowy retreated in direction of her hose.

_Slowly... very slowly backwards._

"..because my make-up will smudge and my beauty routine takes over one hour."

Toni narrowed her eyes and gave her an incredulous look.  
"Bullshit, i saw your make-up collection, princess, and i know that you only use the fancy, water-proof shit."

_Only two more meters. She was almost there._

"Uhhm, it's cold?" she tried another argument, but it sounded more like a question. "I will get sick. What if i get a kidney inflammation and end up in the hospital? All because of you."

"Also," Toni replied, her malicious smile widening, "Bullshit. It's easily 20 degrees. Besides, that theory is a bit far-fetched."

_One more meter. The weapon was almost within reach now._

"You've been warned, Topaz. I swear to god, if you push the button i will make you sleep out– AH."

She was cut off by the cold water jet hitting her, Toni laughing uncontrollably now.

"Okay, now. You've asked for it," she swiftly turned around and grabbed her own hose and promptly opened fire.

"Come here."

Toni squealed as she tried to dodge Cheryl's water stream by running away but was too slow and got the full charge.

Suddenly not caring anymore about her clothes or her make-up, being already fairly soaked, Cheryl took up the chase and laughingly ran after a screeching Toni who tried to outpace her whilst turning around mid-chase to soak Cheryl but without luck, only sprinkling her lightly.

She quickly sidestepped and managed to reach the vegetable beds, ducking behind a raised bed and spraying Cheryl from her now safe spot, the latter squealing as she was hit with cold water again.  
Cheryl tried to block the water with her free forearm, rounded the corner and took Toni by surprise who was quick to her feet and ran off again.

After a short but not any less exhausting chase over the meadow, Toni abruptly came to a halt and put her hands up in surrender.

"Stop, stop. You won."

Cheryl lowered her hose and eyed suspiciously.

"Not so ballsy anymore, are we?" she asked with a mischievous smirk after both their laughter had died down.

"Okay, okay," Toni chuckled."How about a ceasefire?"

"Hah, you wish! Like you said, you snakes can't be trusted."

"Aw, come on," Toni clicked her tongue and fake-pouted.

"When have i ever broken my plighted word?"

Still not convinced, Cheryl squinted at her for a while, contemplating her next move.

"Okay, fine," she eventually gave in.  
"Down with the weapons then. On three: One.. two.. AHH."

She shrieked loudly as she was once again drenched by Toni who threw her head back in laughter.

"You traitor! I knew it." She quickly leapt aside, catching Toni off guard when she aimed at her and soaked her as well, the water jet swallowing the other girl's objection.

By now both girls were soaked to the bone, but Cheryl couldn't care less.

She was having fun. For the first time in forever.  
Even if it was childish shenanigans with a girl from the wrong side of the tracks.  
She was actually having a blast. No drug could come close to the happiness she felt right now.

She took off again, only to be followed by Toni who was now incited to get her revenge on the redhead.

They continued to chase one another through the garden and soak each other until they both ran out of breath from the exhaustion and laughter.

Toni came to halt, spun around to face Cheryl and let her hose drop to the ground.

"Okay, for real this time. Truce?"

Cheryl stopped as well and watched her intently, gripping her own spray nozzle even tighter.  
She closer the space between them, her laughter now subsided to a devilish grin, until their faces were only half a meter apart, when she breathed out.

"In your dreams, snake."

She was about to spray Toni once again, when the other girl suddenly stepped forward, firmly but somehow gently grabbed her wrist with her left hand and knocked the hose out of her hand with a quick strike, leaving Cheryl unarmed before she could process what had happened.

"What?..Uh.. how..," she stuttered as her eyes widened in surprise,

"How the fuck did you do that?" she finally mustered.  
The Serpent laughed at Cheryl's dumbfounded expression and replied, "This ain't my first rodeo, cowboy. I'm in a gang, remember?"

"Right," Cheryl drawled, wondering how often Toni have had to use that manoeuvre in a life-or-death situation.

"Well,would you look at that?" Toni glanced down at herself, pointing at her wet hair and soggy clothes and threw Cheryl a suggestive smile,

"You got me all wet."

"I can tell," she retorted and raised her brow, "And you're all drenched as well."

"Blossom," Toni gasped in faux-shock and slapped her arm lightly.

Cheryl mirrored her expression and smirked at her, seizing the opportunity to eye the girl once again.

They were standing dangerously close now and the proximity allowed her to get a closer look at Toni's eyes, the orange light of the setting sun bathing them in a warm hazel shade and Cheryl felt like she would never get tired of looking into Toni's eyes.  
  
She savoured the sight, not bothered that she was shamelessly staring at the shorter girl or intending to stop any time soon. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't.

Her gaze dropped to the full lips in front of her and she unknowingly leaned in the tiniest bit, close enough to hear Toni's breath hitch.

When she looked up again, her eyes mirrored the same lust and anticipation in Cheryl's and she could swear her heart skipped a beat. Or ten.

_Get it together, Cheryl._

She suddenly flinched at her mother's unforgiving voice in her head and recoiled upon the realisation at what she was doing.

But what exactly was she doing? She was just having fun with her roommate, that's all there is to it.

Nothing deviant happening here, nope. Just two girls having fun. Platonic.

Cheryl tried to ignore the somewhat aching feeling in her stomach when she watched the slightly disappointed expression that made its way onto Toni's face as she took a small step backwards - probably to give Cheryl more space - and tried to deflect the topic.

She tilted her head, sniffed her shoulder and wrinkled her nose.

"Do you smell that, too?" She only now noticed the somewhat foul smell that came from her clothes.

Toni quickly caught on, smelled at her hair and made a grimace. "Ew. What do you think where that water came from?"

"My guess is on the pond or rain water that was stored in a cistern a tad too long."

"Ew." Toni and Cheryl exchanged a disgusted look and then burst out in laughter at the same time. Cheryl was glad that she had prevented whatever had almost happened and they were back to having light-hearted fun.

She had laughed so much today, that her stomach was already starting to feel funny. _Weird_.

"Come on," Cheryl nodded towards the dorm building, signalling Toni to come along. "Time to hit the showers."

"That's fine with me. I don't mind sharing," Toni grinned as she walked up to Cheryl who gasped and punched her playfully. Of course, she had to tease her again.

"Keep it in your pants, Topaz."

"I mean, you do know that we only have one shower in our dorm, right?"

"I'm aware. That's why i'm going to shower in the gym. You can take the one in our room."

"Aww, You're really starting to warm up to me, aren't you?" Toni teased, earning another nudge from the redhead.

"Don't flatter yourself. The ones in the gym simply have better water pressure," Cheryl lied expertly.

Apart from longing some alone time for a certain, synthetical distraction - she has been clean all day except for one Dexedrine in the morning to get her going – she kinda felt like she owed Toni and wanted to do her this small favour.

"Okay, If you say so," Toni retorted, clearly seeing through Cheryl's lies, but accepting the good turn. "Thank you anyway."

"No biggie, Cha-Cha," she reached out and gave Toni's shoulder a light squeeze and added with a smile,  
"I still hate you, though."

Toni returned the smile.  
"Of course you do, red."

With that they parted, Toni heading to the dorms, Cheryl towards the gymnasium.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course, that tingling feeling in Cheryl's stomach comes from laughing too hard. What else could it be? ;)
> 
> P.S: as always tell me what you want to happen next (:


	11. Bad Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All seems to be going well, the two of them finally getting along, but Cheryl is prone to self-destructive behaviour.  
> Toni is starting to get her suspicions about Cheryl's mood swings and weird paroxysms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, big things are happening soon (THE notorious house party by none other than the much detested Nick St. Clair and we all know what that means.)  
> But before that Toni gets to know another side of Cheryl Blossom.

 

 

A few moments later, the sun was now halfway vanished behind Riverdale's hills, Cheryl reached the sports hall and eagerly pulled the door, only to discover under a loud groan that it was already locked.  
She quickly looked around, searching for any sighting eyes, but since the gym was on the far west side of the campus, there was nobody around, so she hastily fished the green-white Spearmint box out off her pocket (she had to switch to an inconspicuous chewing gum box, not wanting to risk Toni finding anything), uncapped it and swallowed another Xanax.  
Having grown used to this over time, she didn't need water anymore, as a matter of fact she actually enjoyed the bitter taste the drug left in her mouth.  
  
It filled her with joyful anticipation, knowing that she would be calm and cheerful in a matter of second.

Not that she needed it right now, after having the – dare she say ' _fun_ ' – day she had with Toni, but she knew she would get cranky when she didn't get her X and she didn't want to ruin the good mood she was in right now, caused by none other than her, until recently, ''detested' room mate Toni Topaz.

The girl really was something else.

She felt a shy smile make its way on her lips at the thought of Toni.

Maybe, just maybe this wasn't so bad after all and maybe she could tolerate the other girl.  
Reluctantly, of course.

A chilly breeze started to blow and reminded Cheryl that she was still outside in her wet clothes and despite the relatively warm October, it started to get cold as soon as the sun set, the puff of air enough to cover her arms in goose bumps.  
  
Not wanting to spend any more time than necessary in her damp and smelly clothes and risk catching a cold with her somewhat weakened immune system, she turned on her heel and crossed the campus, heading to her dorm.

 

With the sedating effect of the drug and the enormous extent of RHBS's campus, it took Cheryl almost ten minutes to get to her room, but she managed.

She came to a halt in front of her door and hastily fixed her hair, after the involuntary shower and the wind blemished it, to the extent possible.

Just because Toni was a filthy Serpent, does't mean Cheryl didn't want to look presentable.

Her fingers curled around the door knob, ready to push it open fully, but her body froze solid midway when she heard.. _singing_?  
Was that.. Toni singing?

Under the shower?

Cheryl sneaked into their room, careful not to make any noise that would notify the Serpent of her presence.  
The bathroom door was locked, damp streaming outside from under the door, but Cheryl could now hear the shower running and Toni singing exuberantly.  
Cheryl recognized the song within a second.

And it was just not any song Toni was singing _so_ passionately, no, it was Waterloo by ABBA.

That mushy sap.

_'Waterloo, couldn't escape if I wanted to.  
Waterloo, knowing my fate is to be with you.'_

Toni's good mood had to be contagious and Cheryl had to press her hand on her mouth and suppress the burst of laughter that threatened to come out.  
She took her phone out and hit recording. This was too good to not be captured and who knows, it might be of use later. She could tease Toni with it or make fun about it with her friends or maybe listen to it when she was sad and needed a cheer-up...  
But only because this was funny and not at all because she enjoyed the sound of her voice.   
Solely for entertaining purposes.

Never, in a like a million years would she have guessed the girl was an ABBA fan. She had taken her more for an Eminem or 50 Cent kind of gal, but this? This was hilarious.  
She tiptoed towards the bathroom door, eager to catch more of Toni's chant, who had now switched to Take A Chance On Me.

God, it was getting better and better.

 _Honey, I'm still free.  
Take a chance on me.  
If you need me, let me know, gonna be around.  
_ _If you've got no place to go, when you're feeling down._

Cheryl couldn't quite tell if it was the X or the suggestive connotation of the lyrics Toni sang so sensuously, but that weird warmth spread in her chest again and found its way on her now rosy cheeks and she could feel her heart pick up speed with every passing minute.

Yep, it must be the Xanax. She was experiencing the _weirdest_ side effects lately...

Toni's voice resonated through the door, filling the room with her dulcet, melodic voice as Cheryl stood frozen in place, not daring to move for fear of the girl on the other side of the door hearing her and would stop singing and Cheryl didn't want to risk that by any means.

She told herself she was only listening so diligently to later expose and tease Toni about it, but deep down she knew that wasn't true.

She recalled Toni telling her that her mother taught her a thing or two but she had left out the part where she could sing like a siren, drawing Cheryl mercilessly in, leaving her standing in front of the door enchanted and petrified.

She greedily drank in Toni's melody and savoured it, now glad about the X she took earlier, the drug's effect only intensifying the pleasurable sensation, feeling like she could listen to it all day.  
  
_Okay, she was definitely high._

It wasn't for two more songs that the door swung open and Toni stepped out still humming, but jumping in shock and, much to Cheryl's chagrin, immediately fell silent when she spotted her, her eyes widening in shock.

Cheryl greeted her with raised eyebrows and a knowing grin, indicating that she had heard everything.

"Dear god, Cheryl," she winced slightly, her cheeks reddening the tiniest bit.

Cheryl found the sight of the _oh-so-tough_ , motorcycle driving gang member, who were carefreely singing along to ABBA just a minute ago and was now blushing because she was caught, super cute.

"Uhm," Toni awkwardly fixed the towel she was wrapped in and scratched her head, "I.. uh.. thought you wanted to shower in the gym?"

Cheryl shrugged, "It was locked."

"And so, you thought it would be a good idea to sneak up and eavesdrop on your oblivious roommate? So not cool."

"Oh, please," Cheryl scoffed, clearly amused, "May I remind you that I _live_ here and besides, you weren't exactly easy to _not_ hear _."_

Her grin widened and she couldn't contain her gloating grin anymore when Toni reddened even more.

She was in control again, now her turn to make her vis-à-vis blush for a change.  
  
"So, ABBA, huh?"

"Oh, shut up," Toni barked in an attempt to get her to drop the embarrassing topic, but it only added to her dinkiness.

"First of all, ABBA straight up slays, okay?" she turned around, making her way towards the closet. "But I didn't need to tell you that since you listen to it on repeat anyway. That and every other kind of soppy musical," she added with a sassy grin over her shoulder. "Nothing gets past me, princess."

Oh, she really didn't miss a thing. That could be risky.

But Cheryl was too besotted to be bothered by that right now.

"I didn't say I don't endorse your choice of music. _Au contraire,_ it bespeaks an exquisite taste."

Toni rolled her eyes at Cheryl's choice of words as she took out her underwear and clothes of the closet.

"Truth be told, I assumed you listened to 6ix9ine or whatever it is you street dogs enjoy."

Toni made a grimace as she turned to face Cheryl with an _are-you-fucking-serious_ expression.

"Ohh, Cheryl, come on, 6ix9ine?" she groaned, "I can handle 'Southside scum' and 'thugs' and all that shit but honestly _that_ is the most offensive thing you've said so far. Seriously, no," she quipped, but Cheryl cringed a little at the mention of her foregone insults.

Has she really been that bad?  
Whatever, she didn't mean _like that_. Well, okay she totally did but not to Toni.  
Toni was the exception of the rule.  
She was the only one of the rabble of snakes that Cheryl could stand, after all.

"Okay, okay," she forced a laughter, "I take that back. I should have figured you have a faible for Swedish disco pop anyway."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Toni raised her eyebrow playfully as she crossed the room again.

"I mean, it's blatant. You're not even _half_ the badass you think you are," Cheryl now teased back, "You're a geek. Your passion for biology and gardening? Super nerdy. Passionately singing along to ABBA whilst showering just adds to the softie picture."

"Okay, enough now, message received," Toni laughed, once more music to Cheryl's ears.

"And I'll let you know that I'm super badass, like actually hardcore. You'd shiver in fear," she drawled out the last words, a hint of joking and teasing in her voice as she stepped closer, claiming the space between the two.

"Oh, yeah?" Cheryl doubtfully arched her brows but didn't step back, albeit the sudden proximity.

"Mhhh," Toni hummed, watching her intently.

"What are you gonna do? Sing me to death?" Cheryl retorted before bursting out in laughter at Toni's excessive groan and eye roll.

"You'll never let me forget that, will you?"

"Nope."

"Thanks a lot," she smiled nevertheless. "Now step aside, I need to change."

Cheryl stood in the doorway of the bathroom, not making a move to step aside and threw Toni a smug look.

"Change elsewhere. I need a shower ASAP and it cannot wait. I can already smell myself."

"Fine," Toni sighed and turned around as Cheryl was about to close the door when she suddenly felt bold.

"Want to join?" she leaned against the doorway and asked roguishly, causing Toni to whirl around with wide eyes.

"Uhm.. You're kidding, right? 'Cause I mean, I gladly _could_ if you _wanted_ to, but not like.. uhm."  
  
Cheryl giggled at the sight of a flustered Toni, knowing that she once again was the reason for it and licked her lips ever so slowly, well aware of the effect it would have on Toni, before closing the door in her face. 

"You wish, Cha-Cha."

She might be playing with her, she might take it too far, but Cheryl didn't care.   
It was all about power and pleasure and right now Cheryl was too avid for both of it to stop.

 

 

 

* * *

 

Oh. my. God.  
What a day it's been.

Toni allowed her mind to drift off and recap today's events as she walked back to her dorm after dinner.  
She had successfully made it into Cheryl's squad. That was a huge win. Not only for her but for the whole Serpents, she could prove the school that they were more than just ghetto kids.

Also, both of the girls surprisingly had a lot of seemed to enjoy each other's company.

One thing Toni was particularly proud of was making Cheryl laugh. Not the fake shit she pulled when she was surrounded by her posse but the genuine and carefree kind. And that more than once.  
It was nice seeing Cheryl drop her act around Toni a little and letting her get to know her. Albeit just a little but still, Toni would take what she could get.  
And she hoped to get more of Cheryl henceforth.

Especially when it was more than obvious to anyone who bothered to look a little closer that the redhead was definitely not in a good place and could use a reliable friend right now.

What more?  
Toni opened up to her about her past and her mother. Well, it wasn't much she revealed, but it counts. Not even Fangs got her to talk about her parents and he knew her since she was a little girl but somehow it was different with Cheryl.  
Easier.  
  
Ironic that Toni felt like the girl who defamed the entirety of the Southsiders including Toni, based on their descent, felt not at all judged and allowed her to see some of her most vulnerable parts.

Let's see, what more?

Oh yes, she had made an absolute fool out of herself just two hours ago when she sang under the shower. Toni still felt like she wanted to be swallowed by the ground and never come back to light again. But something good came out of that as well. They had something in common, Cheryl obsessing over musicals and ABBA like Toni secretly did.

But the most important thing that happened today: She and Cheryl came closer. Not only the fun and bonding over the mutual interest, no, also _physically_.

Even after replaying it in her mind on repeat for the last three hours and quite frankly overthinking just _slightly_ , Toni still wasn't quite sure what it was that happened earlier on the meadow.

One moment she was being chased by her with a garden hoses, then suddenly they were facing each other, standing on this _ridiculously_ cheesy meadow in this _obnoxiously_ romantic sunset light.

_Screw that stupid little heart for doing all these cruel things to her._

But that was all they did, right? Just standing there. There was nothing more to it....

Still, Toni could have sworn there was something between them. Whether it was the way Cheryl had looked at her or leaned in the tiniest bit for whatever reason, there was _something._

Toni just couldn't quite wrap her mind around it.

The girl was a human riddle anyway.

With Cheryl's mood swings that quite frankly borderlined on bipolar, switching from being cool as a cucumber, all flirty and teasing with Toni to being a disastrous hurricane that didn't hesitate to insult and bully Toni and the Serpents, she didn't know where they were standing anyway.

Were they _friends?  
_Or rather flirting frenemies?

Was it even flirting now what they did?  
Toni certainly did but she wasn't so sure about Cheryl.

Either way, Toni didn't exactly welcomed this stupid thing her heart did when she was near her or thought about her, and that happened more than Toni cared for lately.

With an annoyed sigh and a shudder, hoping she could somehow physically shake the thoughts of the redhead off, she opened the door and stepped into their dorm. Cheryl was not there, probably still out with her preppy friends and coming home later.

The Tryout and the water hose battle have left her rather exhausted and Toni wasted no time getting ready for bed. Tomorrow was the last day of their chores after all and although Toni should be glad that the penal labour was over, she couldn't help but feel kind of... sad.  
So far it had been kind of fun and she enjoyed spending some alone time with Cheryl without the ever-present judging eyes of their classmates.

_God, she really was turning into a softie._

After having brushed her teeth, she lay down in her bed scrolling through Reddit on her phone in hopes that it would take her mind off... _things_ but it was no use;  
Cheryl and everything that happened today refused to leave her goddamn mind.

 _Ugh.  
_With a frustrated sigh she tossed her phone a little too hard on her nightstand and turned off the lights.

_Whatever, hopefully she could shut her off mind rather quickly and just fall asleep already._

  
When Cheryl entered the room about an hour later, Toni was already tucked in under her blankets. She wasn't asleep yet but didn't bother to open her eyes and letting the other girl know she was awake.

Cheryl didn't turn the lights on, attentive not to 'wake' Toni and the girl appreciated her surprising consideration. Who knew the girl had heard of such things as thoughtfulness?

She heard Cheryl slowly take off her shoes and clothes and disappear into the bathroom to remove her make-up and brush her teeth.  
After a  few minutes she exited the bathroom and slowly crossed the room when Toni considered taking a quick peek.

For some reason, she found herself loving the sight of Cheryl without make-up.  
Sure, she looked stunning throughout the day, all dressed to the nines but in these rare moments when she wasn't hiding behind the mask of make-up her true beauty came to light and Toni absolutely adored it.

She tried to detect where Cheryl was in the room based on the sound of her foot steps but the girl had fallen silent suddenly.

After a few seconds have passed, Toni considered opening her eyes and checking on the girl when she suddenly heard a stifled whimper and Cheryl stumbling.

Toni shot up in the bed, turned on her bedside lamp and raced over to Cheryl, who was standing face lowered and her body awkwardly hunched as if she was in great pain, at the foot of her bed leaning onto the desk for support.

Toni was quick to her side, gently guiding her the last meter to her bed by her arm and sat her down. Cheryl didn't fight Toni's assistance like the last time she had tried to help her, in fact she didn't even react to her touch at all, face still lowered, sitting there now completely lackadaisical and zoned out.

"Cheryl? Are you okay?"

The girl slowly lifted her head to meet Toni's gaze, dull and lifeless eyes staring right through Toni as if she was in a whole different world, not even aware of Toni's presence.

 _Holy shit, what happened?_  
  
"Wait, I'm gonna get you some water."  
Toni jumped up and hurried into the bathroom to get something to drink. She struggled to find the other girl's glass but found it after a brief search.

When she came out _no fucking_ forty seconds later, Cheryl was sitting on her bed, legs crossed and a perky but tired nonetheless smile on her face.

_What the fuck?_

Toni walked over to her, the water glass in her hand and the confusion obviously evident on her face as Cheryl threw her a questioning look as if she just didn't act like a lethargic zombie.

_Was Toni now imagining things?_

"Uhm, what the hell, Cheryl?"

"What is it, Cha-Cha?" Cheryl drawled with a slight slur that she tried to conceal as she looked innocently at Toni, pretending not to know what the hell she was talking about.

"What the fuck just happened?" Toni demanded.  
She wasn't fooled this easily, something was wrong.

"Oh, I hit my pinky toe at the table leg."  
She averted Toni's gaze and focused on a non-existent crack in her nail, but Toni looked right through her unauthentic mask of bullshit and saw how drained and spiritless she really was.

She wouldn't drop it this time. Not without an explanation what the hell that was.

"Sure thing, that's why you were hardly unresponsive one minute ago."

"Well, I am responding to your interrogating now, aren't I?" Cheryl fretfully shot back.

Toni sighed. It was obvious that she wouldn't get anything out of her but she had to try nevertheless.

"Cheryl, If there is some-,"

"Toni," Cheryl interrupted Toni sternly, but her voice lacking the usual bite and fire, instead coming out tired and exhausted.  
"I'm fine, okay? Really, there is no need to worry. I have low blood pressure, I haven't eaten very much and I'm just really, really tired, okay? No need to go all Dana Scully on me."

Toni eyed her skeptically as Cheryl hastily laid down in bed and tucked herself under her blanket as if she wanted to evade this conversation.  
Toni however was still not convinced and was about to dig deeper but Cheryl preempted her.

"Now if you would kindly stop staring at me like I'm a lost puppy. It happens from time to time. I am prone to hypoglycemia and that leads to circulatory problems. That's also why I.. _fainted_ the other day. No big deal." She turned to lay on her side, facing Toni as she closed her eyes.

The Serpent reluctantly followed suit and laid down in her own bed but the nagging feeling in her stomach was not soothed.  
Was that really it? A problem with blood glucose? She didn't buy that. At least not entirely but she didn't want to push the other girl and risk being shut out again.  
But could that maybe be the truth? Low blood pressure and hypoglycemia was a tricky combination, Toni knew that, but would an otherwise perfectly healthy girl almost faint _twice_ in one week? And why hadn't she eaten anyway?  
  
"Are you sure you're okay?" she decided to leave it at that for now and get to the bottom of this tomorrow.

"Yes," Cheryl yawned, "Just really, really tired."

Toni darted one last glance at the girl who was now already half-asleep. In like a matter of seconds.  
She really must be tired.  
  
"Okay then. Good night, Cheryl."

"Good night, Toni," Cheryl mumbled, her voice muffled by the pillow.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the following day is Friday and the house party is set on Saturday so i was wondering if you would want to read Friday's events or if we should skip that and continue directly with Saturday evening? 
> 
> I didn't have great ideas for Friday besides some bonding time, maybe some angst, so let me know in the comments if we should skip Friday or maybe you have some ideas that you want to see happen before the party? 
> 
> Also: I'm sure you have noticed by now but I'm using the metrical system, meaning I use (centi)meters, degree Celsius etc.  
> If you want me to, I can add the respective units in the imperial system, so let me know


	12. Trauma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cheryl is being haunted and tortured by the past.  
> Toni gets to know a new side of the HBIC and wants to be there for her.  
> Cheryl wants to trust her enough to let her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning:  
> Graphic description of violence and blood.  
> Implications of (attempted) suicide.

The first thing Cheryl noticed was the cold.

The kind of cold that permeates your skin, numbs your extremities and pervades your whole body on its way to your bones, Cheryl's freezing and shuddering increasing with her proceeding consciousness, leaving her whole body covered in goose bumps.

The second thing was the stoniness.  
Whatever it was she lay on, it was hard, frigid and definitely not comfortable.

_Was it concrete? Asphalt?_

God knows how long she must have been laying here, but her whole body was stiff and aching, sore from the abrasive street or pavement.

With a pained groan she slowly stirred awake.

_Where the hell was she?_

She slowly blinked her eyes open and sluggishly sat up to further examine her strange surroundings.  
It was dark and her eyes took a moment to adjust to the gloom, but she realized it was indeed hard, wet asphalt she was sitting on.

_How did she get here?_

Her fingers came in contact with something wet, probably a puddle. It must have been raining shortly prior.  
After her eyes got used to the gloom she muzzily took a look around, only to realize she was in some kind of dark alley.  
In the middle of the night.  
Behind her was a single street lamp at one side of the alley that poorly illuminated the few dumpsters and scattered piles of old furniture and other trash in scarce, cold light.  
There was the sound of the occasional car passing by and police sirens somewhere in the distance.  
This was definitely not RHBS.  
This was not even the Northside.

Even though Cheryl would never set foot in such neighbourhood, at least not by choice, there was something eerily familiar about the alley.  
Being here felt like a déjà-vu.  
Like she had been here before.  
Many times.

That's when she saw him.

Jason was walking down the alley only maybe 20 meters away, head held down and his hands in the pockets of his letterman jacket, heading straight for Cheryl's direction.

 _No.  
_Not again.

It suddenly dawned on her, knew what was about to happen, the inevitable torment that was to follow, having it witnessed it countless nights prior.

Her eyes involuntarily flicked to her left, although not being able to see what was lurking in the shadows of the corner, she knew all too well what was hiding there, ominously awaiting her brother.  
As if by command, Jason's designated killers now stepped out of the dark, three hideous, sturdy guys in Serpent jackets looming up.  
Cheryl watched in fear as the trio spotted her brother and wittingly made their way towards him like the blood-thirsty predators they were.

They had nothing humane about them, unrecognizable, dark mugs at the place where their faces were supposed be, the only thing that protruded was the sinister Serpent logo at the back on their jackets, burning into Cheryl's mind as the gang passed by her, not paying her any attention.

_Turn around, Jason._

She tried to grasp them, to hinder them somehow, but they didn't even notice her, a desperate whisper escaping her as the trouser leg of one of the guys slipped out of her hand.

 _Please,_ she tried to scream, _Please, don't hurt him._

He was about fifteen meters away from her, not noticing his sister sitting on the ground, opening her mouth, trying to scream, to warn him, but it was like someone had her in a chokehold. Every sound she tried to desperately squeeze out, blocked by a massive lump in her throat.

She tried to stand up, tried to warn him but it was hopeless.  
Unable to move, she was held in place by some cruel invisible force, coercing her to idly watch as the group and Jason came closer, her oblivious brother walking straight into his death.

_Ten meters._

_Turn back, Jason. Run away._

Maybe this time she could save him.

_Eight meters._

Take the bullet for her brother.

_Six meters._

Like it should have happened.

_Four meters._

She could make it.

_Two meters._

If only she could stand up.

_One meter._

_Why don't you do something?_

When the thugs were at a level with him, one of them deliberately bumped into Jason causing him to flounder and tumble.

They were laughing diabolically as he fell face first on the ground, struggling to get up again when suddenly one Serpent kicked him forcibly in the rips, causing him to groan in pain.

 _No.  
_Cheryl felt the hot tears that escaped her eyes, could feel herself scream frantically but there was no sound coming out of her. Nothing she could do.

One Serpent lifted him halfway up by his collar, struck out and punched him in the face, eliciting an excruciating whimper from him that ripped Cheryl's heart out.  
There was blood now streaming out of his nose and dripping onto the pavement.

_Why don't you fight back?_

He fell to the ground again, writhing in pain as the group started to mercilessly kick and boot him.  
Cheryl could hear him cry in agony.  
His attempts at protecting himself form the kicks by curling up were useless, the group now relentlessly beating him up until he became more and more motionless and his cries slowly died down.

Cheryl screamed her lungs out, telling him to get up and run but her pleas disappeared into the night.

When she could see his face, now deformed and covered in blood, she broke down in pain and fell to the ground crying.  
The street was cold and wet, draining her even more, but she couldn't bother. She was numb to the cold, all she could feel was pain.

The Serpents laughed maniacally as they finally let go of him and took off as quickly as they came, leaving Cheryl and the now lifeless Jason alone in the street.  
Cheryl tried to tear her gaze off her brother's dead body but she couldn't.

All she could do was lay there, sobbing, look at him through tears and scream his name inaudibly.  
Her lungs were burning and her throat was scratching already, but she didn't care about the pain.

Jason was dead.

Gone forever. Because of her.

A strong clutch suddenly gripped her arm and started shaking her but Cheryl didn't bother to look at it, her eyes still fixated on her brother's body, brutally battered by some Serpent thugs and it was all her fault.

She didn't step in, she didn't protect him like she was supposed to.

She failed him. Over and over again. And now he was gone.

The grip on her arm now yanked her more forcibly and Cheryl could hear a familiar voice calling her name in the distance.

"Cheryl."

The pleading voice got louder and clearer and Cheryl recognized it as Toni's.

"Cheryl, wake up."

 

With a loud gasp her eyes shot open and she jolted awake.  
She almost jumped out of the bed and frantically looked around.

Jason, the Serpents, the dark alley were nowhere in sight, but instead she found herself in her bed and Toni sitting next to her, hand still on Cheryl's upper arm and concern plastered on her face as she watched her desperately trying to catch her breath.

"Jason," she involuntarily breathed out, still feeling like she was about to suffocate.

Only now did she notice her throat was indeed very sore, her screams probably having been _anything_ but silent and thus screaming Toni awake.

"It's okay, Cheryl, you had a nightmare," she reassured her.

It was a dream.  
Just a dream.  
She was safe and sound in her bed.  
But Jason was not.

He was still dead and nothing would bring him back.

Cheryl once again felt the tears uncontrollably streaming down her face and started to hyperventilate upon the realization, now firmly clutching onto Toni's hand like a lifeline.  
She had to endure this so many nights now, the exact same scenario all over again, why did it still rile her up like this?

Toni quickly caught on Cheryl's panic attack and squeezed her hand reassuringly.  
"Come on, Cheryl," she drawled out soothingly, her warm voice and the gentle hand holding enough to distract Cheryl the tiniest bit from her nightmare.  
"Breathe with me, okay?"  
She slowly breathed in, waiting for Cheryl to follow suit whilst she stroke her thumb over the back of the redhead's hand, and intently breathed out.  
Trying her hardest to shake off the haunting images in her mind, Cheryl tried to remember how to breathe properly again and focused on Toni, inhaling deeply and pointedly.

"Yeah, just like that," she continued taking deep, slow breaths with Cheryl whilst repeating, "In and out. You got this."

After a few moments of more or less steady breathing with Toni's guidance, Cheryl felt considerably more calm and allowed herself to process what had happened.  
Not the nightmare, she didn't want to think about that again but rather repress that haunting memory until the next night.  
No, she tried to focus on something positive. Like Toni.

Toni had noticed her nightmare and rushed to her help just like she did before when she had another paroxysm.  
She could have made fun of her or left her alone but instead she helped her. Without ulterior motives, it seems.

Cheryl's gaze dropped to their now intertwined hands and then up to Toni's face, the girl waiting patiently for her to catch her breath.  
How she managed to always be so patient and understanding with her, was a mystery to Cheryl.  
She would have given up on herself a long time ago.

But here she was, holding her hand and giving her all the time she needed.

"Better now?" she flashed her that familiar warm smile of hers and Cheryl couldn't help but returned it the tiniest bit as she wiped her tears away.  
This actually felt nice. No one could calm Cheryl down like that so quickly.  
Except Jason, of course.  
Well, to be fair, she hadn't given anyone the chance so far, always in control of her emotions around people and breaking down when she was alone, but still, the girl had the strangest effect on her.

"Yeah, better."

"Good," Toni whispered, now lazily drawing circles on the back of her hand.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Cheryl replied sharply without missing a beat.  
Letting the other girl see her cry and at her worst was one thing but she couldn't talk about Jason. Not with a _Serpent_.

Toni seemed to understand as she stopped her stroking but still smiled at her with warm eyes. "Okay. Do you need anything else?"

"Some water maybe," Cheryl croaked out almost inaudibly, her voice still hoarse from all the screaming.  
Toni made a move to stand up, letting go of her hand, but Cheryl quickly grabbed her arm, non-verbally telling her to remain where she was seated and got up.  
"It's okay, I'll go get it myself."

Without awaiting the girl's response, she swiftly made her way towards the bathroom, promptly closing the door behind her.

She really could use some water but above all she needed something to help her sleep again, because after that hell she just had to go through, there was no way she would get a wink of sleep tonight, but the other girl obviously didn't need to know that.

Bad enough that she had witnessed yet another one of Cheryl's outage earlier, but luckily she could write it off as simple fatigue.

 

Meanwhile on the other side of the door, a very concerned Toni was sitting on Cheryl's bed, unsure of what to do next. Cheryl had motioned her to stay seated but she didn't want to intrude the other girl's personal space any more, so she skidded a little further away from the bed until she was awkwardly sitting on the edge, waiting for her roommate to come out of the bathroom.

The poor girl had to really suffer under that cold exterior.  
Sure, Toni knew all too well how it felt to have a loved one ripped out of one's life and she would be lying if she said she was doing fine, but Cheryl's sorrow must be something else.

The way she screamed in pain and called her brother's name was heartbreaking and this did not appear as a one time thing to Toni. She wondered how many nights Cheryl had to endure nightmares like this and how the hell she managed to cope with all this.

Moments later Cheryl exited the bathroom again and slowly crossed the room, sheepishly averting Toni's gaze as she crawled on her bed and tucked herself up.

Even though it was not appropriate given Cheryl's condition, Toni bit down a smile at the sight of her.  
Considering how Cheryl usually was the sacrosanct Queen of ice, she looked so fragile right now and somewhat... lovely.  
Like a lost puppy.  
She reminded herself that this was definitely not the right time to gawk at her roommate, who was obviously not doing well, and awkwardly cleared her throat.

"Okay, then.."

She was about to go to her own bed when Cheryl suddenly grabbed her hand again and pulled her down.  
She turned her head to meet Cheryl's gaze, her face red and puffy from crying.

"Stay?" she breathed out, though it was more like a pleading whisper and Toni's heart broke a little at the sound of the hurt and helplessness in her voice.

"Of course, if that's alright with you?" she asked cautiously, in case the girl changed her mind but was greeted with an eager nod and without further ado, she tucked herself in under Cheryl's enormous blanket and laid down beside her.  
Since the bed only had so much space, the two girls had to scoot closer to make it work.  
Not that Toni minded.

They were now both lying on their backs facing the ceiling, arms slightly touching, when Cheryl's hand found Toni's almost automatically under the blanket and intertwined again, sending a flush of warmth through Toni's veins and an ever so small smile to her lips.

Still averting her gaze, Cheryl inhaled shakily as if it caused her great pain and whispered,  
"Thank you, Toni... for being there and... helping me."

Toni reassuringly squeezed her hand,  
"Anytime, Cheryl. Now try to get some rest and wake me when something's up, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good night, Bombshell."

"Good night, TT."

Toni tried to contain her smile at the new nickname and _tried_ even harder not to think about her hand in Cheryl's but with the redhead's delicate hand fitting so perfectly in Toni's she made it really, really hard for her.

 

* * *

 

A few hours later Cheryl was the first to wake up. The early sun shining through the blinds and burning behind her eyelids.

She blinked her eyes halfway open and lazily rubbed the stubborn remnants of grit and dried tears off and slowly came to life. Judging by how bright the sun was shining already, it must have been past 7 and she had overslept her alarm, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

_Who needs breakfast anyway?_

Due to the blinding sun rays, she pressed her eyes shut again and lazily stretched out her arm to feel for her phone on her nightstand, but instead touched soft and warm skin.

_Toni._

Cheryl's eyes shot open when last night's occurrences suddenly dawned on her.

Jason, the Serpents, his death, her screams, the ever-present pain.  
It all came flooding down on her like a cold wave, hitting her with a brutal, unforgiving force, pinching off her throat again.

But there also was Toni.  
Toni rushing to her side, holding her hand, calming her down, sleeping next to her.  
Toni, Toni, Toni.  
Even now Toni managed to push aside the agonizing dark cloud in Cheryl's mind and instead occupied her thoughts by just laying next to Cheryl, not actually doing anything.

Only now did she notice their proximity and the warmth Toni radiated and how good it actually felt.  
Her face was maybe 40 centimetres away on their shared pillow, her right hand resting lazily over the covers on the redhead's waist and Cheryl tried to ignore how safe it made her feel.

Given that she couldn't stand the sight of the other girl less than a week ago and hated her kin's guts, this felt oddly domestic and Cheryl bit down the urge to snuggle closer.  
Toni started to stir awake upon Cheryl's accidental touch, her calm features hardening as she pressed her eyes shut and slowly opened them again, as she looked at Cheryl with a sleepy smile.

"Morning."

Even with the slight bags under her eyes, the exhaustion readable on her face – poor girl probably didn't get a wink of sleep with Cheryl's screaming and probably restless tossing – she still looked beautiful.

 _Too_ beautiful for Cheryl's liking.

And this was _too_ domestic.

Wait, what was this supposed to be anyway?

What was she _doing?_

What the hell was happening here?

Admittedly, Cheryl was in a bad place last night and Toni somehow managed to calm her down, but she would be _damned_ if she let a _Serpent_ girl waltz through her walls like it was nothing and get close to her.

No, she couldn't do that to Jason.  
So, she pushed Toni's hand off her waist, ignored the cold feeling it left and glared at the snake in her bed who was now chuckling lightly.

"What's so funny, you freak?"

Still bemused, Toni stretched and flashed Cheryl a smile,  
"Aww, come on. That's a dreadful morning-after etiquette."

"Cut it out!" She sat up and scooted a little away from Toni.

"Okay, sorry, that was insensitive," her smile faltered and her expression softened, "How are you feeling?"

"What do you mean how I'm feeling?" she barked now.  
_What kind of stupid question was that?  
_"If you're referring to last night, that was an exceptional situation," Cheryl suddenly felt the urge to explain herself and defend her breakdown yesterday, "I don't know how that happened but it was just as foreign to me as it was to you, I usually don't lose it like that and-"

"Cheryl," Toni said softly but Cheryl just spoke over her,

"And I appreciate your help, albeit being completely redundant. It was not as bad as it may have seemed, so really, I'm fine," she noticed she was rambling now but couldn't stop, the embarrassment about her pathetic breakdown gaining the upper hand. "Nothing I can't handle on my own, okay? So, I don't need anybody's faux-sympathy and most certainly nobody's _pity,_ I am -"

"Cheryl," Toni cut in again, silencing Cheryl when she laid her hand on hers.

"Would you please stop that? Why do you find that so goddamn hard to believe that i just want to help you?" Toni asked but was met with a puzzled and incredulous look.

Cheryl didn't really have an answer to that herself.

"And for the record, it's not pity, okay? I _wanted_ to help you because I see that you are struggling. So, how about you just let me instead of shutting me out?"

 _What?_  
Cheryl processed Toni's words for a moment before blurting out,  
"Why?"

"What do you mean, why?"

"Why would you want that? What's in it for you?"  
She was not convinced. If her dreadful parents have taught her one valuable life lesson then it was that nothing in life is for free.  
Everything comes at a price.

"Nothing?" Toni shook her head, obviously just as thrown off as Cheryl was, "I just want to be there for you, support you. As a friend."  
"Without ulterior motives," she added when she noticed Cheryl's wariness.

Cheryl felt her eyes start to sting again, but she was quick to quell the sudden surge of emotion. Toni _wanted_ to be there for her? Without any counter performance? That concept was new to Cheryl.

The rational side in her told her to shut her out.  
To cuss her out and cruelly scare her away like the last time she had wanted to help her.  
She simply could not handle more.  
Every day Cheryl felt like she was standing on the brink of an abyss.  
All it needed was a little more pain driving her closer to the cliff's edge, one slightest push and she would fall down. This time for good.  
She knew that if she hadn't found a way to numb the pain, she would have been gone already.  
So, she couldn't venture being vulnerable around other people. The stakes that Toni would disappoint and hurt her were too high.

But one look in Toni's eyes and all her doubts melted away.  
Laying there in Cheryl's bed _by her side_ , Toni looked at her with nothing but sympathy and sincerity.  
She was different than all the other people in Cheryl's life.  
She didn't know how or in what way, but Cheryl could feel it.  
There was no agenda, no malice, no insidiousness.  
This girl _wanted_ to be there for her, she genuinely wanted this.  
Even though Cheryl was taking a high risk by doing so, she wanted to trust her.  
Enough to let her in, to give her a chance.

Maybe she could help her heal.

After what felt like an eternity of being torn between reason and emotion, she gave in and sighed,  
"Okay."

Toni didn't comment on her sudden change of heart, that quite frankly took Cheryl herself by surprise, but watched her intently with a content smile, waiting for her to continue.

"I'm sorry," the redhead now let her shoulders, she didn't even notice were tense, slump in defeat and lowered her gaze, refusing to meet Toni's eyes.  
"It's just..," she swallowed another surge of emotion rising in her throat as she croaked out, "It's not easy you know."  
If Toni noticed the break in her voice, she didn't let on but instead carefully took Cheryl's hand again.

_God, why does this have to feel so good?_

"Yeah," Toni murmured, a sad smile on her lips, "I can tell."

For fear of breaking out in tears again, Cheryl still averted her gaze.  
She didn't want to cry again. That she had done enough already.  
So, she stroked Toni's hand, non-verbally putting all her gratitude into the touch in hopes that Toni understood the appreciation she wasn't able to express through words yet, and made a move to get out of bed.

"Enough with the pity party now," she released Toni's hand with a squeeze and sat up. "Come on, we're late for breakfast already."  
Toni quickly caught on and followed suit, returning Cheryl's smile as they both got out of her bed.

A few moments of getting dressed and ready in comfortable silence later, neither of the girls daring to interrupt the peaceful, somewhat intimate moment they were sharing, Toni spoke up,  
"Cheryl."

The redhead turned her head to face Toni.

"Just know that I'm here for you, should you need anything. I'm no more than a phone call away, okay?"

With a smile on her lips, Cheryl fished her phone out of her pocket, opened her contacts and handed it to Toni,  
"This might be a good time to get your number then."

Chuckling lightly, the Serpent typed in her number and cast Cheryl a cheeky glance as she jokingly asked, "Does this mean we're friends now?"

That elicited a laughter from Cheryl and she could feel the last remnants of her distress evaporate.

"Okay, calm down now."

Toni handed her her phone back with a faux-disappointed look, causing Cheryl to laugh even more, which Toni quickly joined in to as both girls made their way towards the door.

On the way out, Cheryl tried to contain the excited smile over her newfound, albeit unspoken friendship.

 

Maybe this would turn out just fine.

  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting there. Slowly but steadily (:
> 
> BIG things are about to happen


	13. Betting debts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betting debts are debts of honour, so Cheryl finally buys Toni her milkshake.  
> Toni doesn't know what to make of her... situation with Cheryl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay again but here it is.. finally :)  
> The next chapter will be the party so stay tuned (I'm gonna post it next Saturday, for real)
> 
> ALSO: Thanks a lot to the lovely @theauthenticme for the suggestions and the proofreading :))

 

"You look like shit, Toni," Sweet Pea greeted her when Toni arrived at the Serpent table for lunch after classes.  
"Charming, Sweets. You really know how to talk to the ladies," she retorted grouchily and sat down with her tray.  
"No, for real. You look like a zombie."  
"Yeah, T," Fangs weighed in, "Pulled and all-nighter or something?"  
Toni grunted in response and pulled her beanie down over her face.

Due to Cheryl's.. vociferous nightmare, she had woken up in the middle night and hadn't really slept afterwards. Partly because she wanted to be awake should the girl have another panic attack, but mainly because Cheryl was not only a choppy sleeper, no she was _restless,_ constantly tossing and turning, bereaving Toni of her much needed rest.

She didn't want to tell her that morning, given how freaked out she was when Toni's hand still lay on her waist, but after an hour of Cheryl's restless rolling around and thus keeping her awake, Toni had had enough and started to shush her gently and caress her arm, which seemed to have done the trick, the sleeping redhead instantly relaxing into her touch (which was really fucking cute, to be honest.)

But with their fragile friendship blossoming, Toni didn't want to scare her off by ribbing her about it, but rather keep that piece of information to herself and delight in knowing how cuddly the HBIC actually was. At least, subconsciously.

"Yeah, didn't really get much sleep last night," she grumbled, sullenly poking around in her food.

The boys got the hint to drop the topic and decided to leave it at that, turning their attention to Jughead again who was yet again ranting about something that offended him that Toni couldn't care less about but instead, she let her eyes wander through the cafeteria until they settled on the only person she wanted to see right now.

As usual, Cheryl was sitting at the head of the Vixen's table surrounded by her posse.

Even after the rough night she went through, she still managed to look flawless. Unlike Toni, who barely found the time to apply some concealer to cover the dark circles under her eyes. She had watched as Cheryl had run through a shortened version of her beauty routine that morning, knowing exactly how to effortlessly mask the exhaustion on her face, leaving Toni to wonder exactly how many times she had had to do this already.

Of course, it was also advantageous that the redhead was a natural beauty, her skin and hair inherently pristine, not needing any sort of makeup to make herself look better.

She was so entranced by the beautiful view in front of her, that she didn't notice Jughead nudging her with his shoulder, "Earth to Toni."  
"Fuck off, Jug," she mumbled, giving him the finger without tearing her gaze off Cheryl for even a second.

Due to her lack of sleep, she was not exactly in a good mood today and his pesky wittering didn't really help her grouch.  
How dare he disturb her with a view like that right in front of her?

"Oh shit, Tiny."  
With a sigh she now turned to the direction of the voice, already annoyed about what Fangs wanted from her.  
"I know that look," he continued with a shit-eating grin, causing her to raise her eyebrows in question.  
"You have a thing for the ginger dementor over there," he nodded his head towards the table Toni was previously staring at.  
"What?" she scoffed as if the very notion was absurd, "No I do not!"

Admittedly, she had kind of warmed up to her and she would be lying if she said Cheryl didn't intrigue her, like really fucking much... but she wasn't _crushing_ on her or anything. She was content with just being her friend. Nothing more and no strings attached.  
Or was she..?

"Oh, my God, you so do!" Fangs leaned closer, now grinning from ear to ear.  
"I know you, Toni, and the way you've been gawking at her just one minute ago was anything but subtle."  
_Oh shit, was she that obvious?  
Had Cheryl seen?_

"Oh no, Toni," Jughead now cut in with a groan, "please don't tell me you fawning over Cheryl Blossom."  
"Would you guys keep it down?" she scolded the guys, frantically looking around for any eavesdropping ears.  
"And no, I absolutely do not!"  
Not knowing who she was trying to convince anymore, herself or her friends, she felt her cheeks flush as she added sheepishly, "And even _if_ I was, it would really be none of your concern."  
"Oh shit, I knew it," Fangs not so silently cried out in triumph, when he saw the blush on Toni's cheeks, "You don't fool me for one second."

"Toni, I know it's not my business, but this is really not a good idea," Jughead began.  
He didn't even need to elaborate, Toni already knowing where he was getting at.  
"Seriously, you do not want to have dealings with a Blossom."  
_Okay, here we go._  
"Thank you for the unsolicited advice, Jug. Much appreciated."  
Equally annoyed, he let out a frustrated sigh,  
"Trust me on this, because unlike you, I've known Cheryl for longer than _a week_ ," he emphasized the last words like the smartass he was.  
"Long enough to know that Cheryl is like a shark. She'll taste blood in the water and will tear you apart in no time."

Toni slammed down her fork, her head darting to the boy next to her.  
"You may have known her _longer_ than I do, Jones, but I know her  _better_ ," she retorted, not bothering to hide her annoyance anymore. She was fed up.

Jughead of all people should know better than to judge someone right away based on their reputation or exterior and the fact that he wouldn't even give her a chance made him no better than every other biased idiot at this school, failing to see the real Cheryl behind the curtain.

"What do you know about her anyway? Have you ever spoken to her? Like a _real_ conversation?"

"Oooh, It's on," Sweet Pea whooped, rubbing his hands in anticipation, "don't you badmouth Toni's girl."  
"Shove it, Sweets," she didn't take her glaring eyes off Jughead, challenging him to answer.  
"No, I have not and do you know why? Because every time she saw me or any of us for that matter, she insulted us, talked us down - _you_ included by the way - just because we're not from the Northside."  
"And that surprises you? Her brother fucking died on the Southside, so it's no wonder that it's a touchy subject for her. I don't appreciate being called Southside scum either, but I know she doesn't mean it and you don't hear me whining about it like you constantly do."  
"Toni," Jughead put his head in his hands and sighed in defeat, "I'm just looking out for you, okay?"  
"Noted, but not needed," she crossed her arms over her chest.  
She knew she was being a little harsh on him and maybe a little stubborn, but all this slandering was grating her nerves.  
"I'm serious. Rethink your.. _idea_ , at least."

"Look how lovey-dovey she is, Jug. She probably can't even hear you."  
"Fangs, I swear to God,-" she shot up from her seat, ready to slap his stupid grin off his face, hoping to shut him up about this stupid topic, but froze in her tracks when she saw the redheaded girl in question approach the Serpent table.

"Talk of the devil.." Jughead mumbled under his breath, turning his attention to his burger again.  
Cheryl came to a halt in front of the table and put her hands on her waist.  
"TT," she turned her head to address the rest of the group, "and the three Stooges,"  
Jughead caught Toni's eye and gave her his _I told-you-so_ look but was curtly dismissed with an eye roll.

"Hey, Red," Fangs greeted Cheryl with a telltale grin,"What's going down?"  
Cheryl sighed, visibly annoyed that she had to publicly engage with Serpents.  
Pressing her lips to a disapproving, thin line, she gave him a derogative up and down,  
"My opinion of you, obviously."  
Fangs clutched his heart in phony indignation and Toni bit down a chuckle.

She could feel her dander about Fangs' barmy notion and Jughead's fuss vanish as quickly as it came, instead her mood brightening up by Cheryl's sheer presence.

"As much as it pains me to say this," the cheerleader exhaled pointedly, "I suggest you ditch the Powerpuff Girls here as well as your pathetic excuse of a meal," she eyed Toni's mashed potatoes, "and go to Pop's _avec moi._ To get this ridic' betting thing over with rather sooner than later, of course."

Out of Cheryl's range of vision, the three boys exchanged questioning looks, confused about the sudden amity between the two, until recently, archenemies, but Toni ignored them and smiled at Cheryl, "I thought I'd never get my rightful milkshake."  
"Don't get cocky now, Cha-Cha, or I might change my mind."  
"Oh, why, nevermind, I'd love to go to Pop's with you."  
"Parfait! I'll be waiting outside." With one last disgusted frown, she glanced at the trio, "Don't want to catch any diseases."

As quickly as she came, she turned on her heel and stalked away, leaving three baffled boys and a delighted Toni behind.

Before they would have the chance to interrogate her, Toni gathered her things and was about to take off when Fangs mouthed ''Whipped' and Sweet Pea mockingly called after her, "Bye, TT. Have fun, TT."  
Both boys earning a respective middle finger from Toni when she exited the cafeteria, heading for the direction Cheryl left to.

 

* * *

 

 

The chime of the bell announced the two girls' arrival as they entered Pop's, Cheryl immediately aiming for a booth in the far right corner.

"You know if you wanted a date with me, you could have just asked," Toni quipped as they sat down on opposite sites.  
"For the record, I'm only doing this, so you would finally stop bugging me about this."  
"Sure thing, Red."

Cheryl sighed and picked up the menu with fidgety hands, despite not actually reading it and Toni couldn't help but pick up the tenseness she tried to hide.  
"Since I.. _owe_ you for last night and kept you from eating lunch with your… friends," it was hard for her to bite back another classist insult but she managed, "I'd like you to order whatever your tousled heart desires. Milkshake as well as something proper to eat, it's on me. Betting debts are debts of honour, after all."  
As was always the case, Toni wasn't sure if it was something nice Cheryl just said or another subliminal insult. Probably both.

"Cheryl, you really don't have to do this."  
Admittedly, she could really use something to eat since she had already skipped breakfast, but she didn't want the other girl to buy her anything out of guilt or as a form of redemption.

"Toni," Cheryl impatiently put down the menu, "I could hear your stomach growl when we walked in. Besides, I really owe you.. for what you did for me last night."

Just like Toni, Cheryl was adamant and it was clear that she would not give in until she would get what she wanted, so Toni sighed and rolled her eyes playfully,  
"Okay, I'll let you buy me lunch, but only if you finally get this quid-pro-quo mindset out of your head. You don't _owe_ me anything."  
"Trés bien," Cheryl squealed and beamed her a proud smile before waving Pop over.

"I'll have a strawberry milkshake with sugar-free soy milk, no cream and crushed ice instead of ice cream," she ordered in one breath when the older man arrived.  
"How about you?"  
She turned to Toni who stared at her blankly with raised eyebrows,  
"Uhhh.. a chocolate milkshake? Normal?"  
"And to eat?"  
"Uhm, the pancakes sound good."  
After Pop took their orders and disappeared behind the counter, the brunette eyed Cheryl warily, "Don't you want to eat something?"  
"Oh, I've already eaten," she replied nonchalantly, her eyes avoiding Toni's skeptical stare.  
_Had she really, though?_  
Before she had the chance to express her disbelief, Cheryl spoke up again.  
"You.. uhm.. you haven't...-," she stuttered, nervously fidgeting with her sleeve, "you haven't told anyone, have you? About.. you know.. last night?" her voice trailed off as she watched Toni anxiously.  
"What? No, of course not. Why would I do that?"  
"Okay," Cheryl looked relieved, "I assumed, since you are so close with your friends.. that maybe you had told them.. but for once I am glad I was wrong."  
"No, don't worry," Toni assured her, "I would never do that to you."  
"Thank you," Cheryl drawled, her gaze flicking to her clasped hands again.

After a few moments of more or less reserved silence - neither of the girls sure how to approach the heavy topic that dangled in the air, especially now that Cheryl has addressed her previous meltdown – Pop arrived with their milkshakes and placed their respective orders in front of them.  
"Here you go, girls."  
"Thank you, Pop."

Toni decided change the subject to break the silence before it got awkward.  
"So, tell me," she folded her arms on the table after the man had left again, "What is it that you preppy Northsiders do over the weekend?"  
"May I remind you, that by living here you're a part of these preppy Northsider group as well?" Cheryl followed suit and leaned a little closer over the table.  
"And to answer your question, most students go home over the weekend, spend some time with their families."  
The sad undertone in her voice was not lost on Toni.  
"What about you?" she asked blatantly.  
"I.. stay here.. at RHBS," she averted her gaze from Toni's, taking the opportunity to stir her milkshake.  
"Always?"  
"Always."  
"Doesn't it bore you? Spending the weekend alone at school when everybody else is gone?"

Still avoiding eye contact, Cheryl shrugged, "I've grown used to it and it gives me time to focus on myself. I study a lot, go to the gym or train for the Vixens. Besides, it's not like I'm by myself all the time. Me and my Vixens often go to the movies or to a house party. Like tomorrow."  
"Well," Toni drawled, giving Cheryl what she hoped was an encouraging smile, "lucky for you I don't really have anywhere to go either, so looks like you'll have company from now on."  
Finally, the other girl lifted her head and returned her smile, "How awful."  
Just when Toni was about to dig deeper about that party, Cheryl preempted her once again.

"How come?" she bursted out.  
"What?"  
"Where did you live prior? Before you came here I mean?"  
Toni paused for a brief moment, contemplating whether she should tell the girl. Usually, she wouldn't talk about her past, but Cheryl seemed to be genuinely interested in her story and after she had confided in her, it was only fair to share a little of her past with her as well.

"I didn't really have a home of my own, so I used to crash with the boys or some of the other Serpents."  
Against expectation, Cheryl didn't look repelled or repulsed, but instead looked at Toni with curiosity and surprise.  
"You've been couch surfing your whole life then?"  
The very notion of being homeless must have been unimaginable for someone who grew up with a silver spoon in their mouth, but Toni was far from ashamed of her upbringing.  
"No, not my entire life. Only after my mom died and my father took off. I then lived in a foster home for two years or so, before I ran off and lived on the street for some time before Fangs' mom took me in."

"Wow."  
For the first time, Cheryl looked like she was at a loss for words.  
"Toni, that's awful. I had no idea."  
Not really knowing what to say either, Toni awkwardly cleared her throat, "Now you do."  
_This is not about you,_ she reminded herself. Cheryl was the one who needed a shoulder to cry on, not the other way round, so she shook her head and forced a smile, steering the conversation towards the redhead again,  
"So much for my sob story. What's yours?"  
"Mine?" Cheryl lifted her head as if she couldn't believe Toni would ask about her.  
"Oh, my whole life resembles a Dickensian tragedy. You wouldn't want to know."  
"Why would I be asking then?" Toni tried to sound as nonchalant as possible whilst cutting her pancakes.

Cheryl sighed in defeat and eyed her for a moment.  
"Fair enough. What do you want to know?"  
"For starters, why don't you spend the weekends at home?"  
"Thornhill?" she huffed and shook her head, "That house is barely a home."  
"Why?" Toni knew she was playing a dangerous game by questioning Cheryl like that but she was determined to get to know her, to understand her better.

The redhead bit her lip and paused for a moment, but eventually gave in.  
"Thornhill has never been a happy home.." she started quietly. "It was a dark place and JJ was my only light. But when he... died..." she gulped visibly. It was obvious that it still pained her to talk about him, "...my world was dark. I was alone with my... uncaring parents. So many bad things happened there.." her voice suddenly broke and she choked down a sob.

"Hey.. it's okay.." Toni reached across the table and laid her hand on Cheryl's clenched fist.  
"I.. I'm sorry," she ran her hand through her red locks and snuffled.  
"You have nothing to be sorry for. This must be really painful to talk about, Cheryl, I get it."  
"I'm sorry. I don't know where that came from. You must think I'm unstable or-" she covered her hands, more tears spilling from her eyes.

Without thinking, Toni reached out her hands again, carefully moving Cheryl's hand from her face, interrupting the girl before she could apologize even further.  
"Cheryl," the other girl promptly let her hands relax into Toni's touch and took her hands into her own.  
"No, I do not and don't you ever think again, okay? You might have a hard time believing that, but I'm actually interested in _you_ as a person. So, please... go on."

That simple gesture seemed to have been enough to open Cheryl's flood gates again, the girl's eyes tearing up before she lowered her gaze to their clasped hands.  
"I.. I don't want to go back there. Ever. I only visit my mother when I absolutely have to. I can't _stand_ the sight of her."

A tear rolled down her cheek and Toni's heart ached at the sight.  
Given the fact that she was willing to open up to someone who showed the smallest amount of concern, it didn't take a specialist to see how much the girl was suffering.  
"They have always been terrible, my parents. But Jason.. he made it bearable. He put me above everything else, protected me, defended me from my parents when they mistreated me again and again. But after he was taken from me, it became... _excruciating._ "

The poor girl. Toni couldn't imagine the pain she must be in.  
"You miss him," she stated flatly.  
"Every day," Cheryl whimpered, closing her eyes and letting the tears stream freely down her face.  
"He was my everything, my best friend and soul mate. There was no one quite like him. And then he was gone.. and everything was dark again."

"Cheryl, I am so sorry. And sadly, I didn't get to know your brother, but one thing I know for sure is that he would be so, so proud of you."  
"You don't mean that," Cheryl scoffed humourlessly, "I'm a despicable bitch. People hate me, Toni."  
"I don't," the shorter girl objected softly.  
"Why? I've been nothing short but awful to you. You have every right to hate me and yet-," she let out a stifled chortle, "-and yet here you are. Sitting here with me and listening to me bawling my eyes out. _Again_ ," she emphasized the last word with a hand motion.  
"Why?"  
"Because," Toni began… "I _know_ that there's a soft core under that hard shell."  
That caught Cheryl by surprise, her sad, glassy eyes darting to Toni's. There was surprise and hurt but also agitation in them as she watched the Serpent cautiously, almost as if she wanted to find out if she meant what she had just said.  
"And what I see is a beautiful, sensitive girl that has been through too much shit."  
Cheryl watched her for a moment before forcing a chuckle, "So corny, TT."  
"But not any less true," Toni smiled but tried to sound serious.  
Cheryl's half-smile faltered to a thoughtful expression as she took in Toni's words.

"Thank you, Toni," she whispered.  
"Anytime, Bombshell."

They spent a moment in silence, Cheryl lost in thought as she rhythmically stroked Toni's hand in hers.  
After a while, she wiped her tears away and snorted, "What would your friends say if they saw us like that?"  
Toni felt the tension in the air melt away and joined in on the banter.  
"They would probably make fun of me, call me soppy and bully for the rest of my life."  
Cheryl let out a chuckle and smiled gratefully at Toni who now felt it was safe to approach the aforementioned topic.

"Sooo, what was that about the party you mentioned before?"  
"No," Cheryl giggled now, "Not a chance, TT."  
"What? C'mon, why? Surely you can bring a plus one?"  
"Because.. it's the St. Clairs. They're everything you detest about the Northside. It's not the kind of party you and your... acquaintances would have fun attending."  
"Aww, come on. How bad it can be?"  
"Seriously, no. Besides, you're not even invited."  
"So we have to crash it?" Toni asked cheekily, "Those are my favourites.  
Shaking her head, Cheryl gave up and giggled, "You're incorrigible."

_Yes, that she was._  
  


 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I've kept you guys waiting but the next chapter is gonna be the fateful party at the St. Clairs (I promise) and from then on it'll get going so hang in there.
> 
> Also leave me your tumblr handles :)) xxxx


	14. The Party I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cheryl wants to let go for one evening and becomes reckless, but is given a cruel ultimatum eventually.  
> Toni is confused and oblivious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it finally is.  
> Trigger Warning: Heavy substance abuse (cocaine, alcohol and MDMA)
> 
> Also a HUGE Thank you to the amazing @theauthenticme for helping me again and improving this chapter xxx
> 
> PS: If you're wondering what Kate looks like, I had Hanna's (Pretty Little Liars) evil step sister Kate in mind so yeah you get the picture.

"Cheryl, honey!"  
Nick greeted her with a roguish grin when he swung the door to the St. Clair mansion open.  
"Nick, my dearest," she gave him a peck left and right.  
"You look stunning, as always."  
He gestured to her and her squad, which consisted of Josie, Midge, Tina and Ginger, leading them inside and through the foyer into the kitchen.

It was early, about 9pm, but the party was already in full swing, music blasting through the speakers and the St. Clair property already fairly filled with about 150 people.  
"What can I offer my favourite party girl?" he took a cocktail glass and gestured towards the array of booze and soft drinks.  
"Do I really need to tell you, Nicky?"  
He chuckled and grabbed the Pommery bottle.  
"Champagne. Naturally."  
"Fill it up."  
She wanted to have fun today and didn't plan on staying sober for long.

"Cheryl!" she turned around to the familiar voice to see Kate approach her, "You came."  
"Of course," she reciprocated her hug and smiled, "A party is not a party without _moi,_ love."  
"True," Kate and Nick both smiled knowingly and nodded towards the door at Cheryl, the latter immediately latching on to the sibling's tacit proposition and ditched her friends, walking with Kate and Nick the grand stairs upstairs and aimed, as a matter of routine, for the bathroom at the end of the hallway, that Cheryl knew all too well by now.

After one quick glance for any witnessing eyes, the trio slipped into the bathroom, Nick closing the door behind them and without further ado reached into the pocket of his sakko to retrieve a small ziploc baggy with white powder in it.  
"Snow?" Cheryl laughed, "Way to get going."  
Nick shrugged as he emptied the bag on the marble counter and carefully arranged three thin lines with his credit card.  
"Only the best for my best," he threw her a smug grin as he pulled out a $100-bill and expertly rolled it up.  
"Keep it in your pants, Nicky," Kate slapped his arm jokingly as she took the rolled up bill out of his hands and leaned over the lines.  
Cheryl watched in impatient anticipation as she put the bill up to her nose and bolted down one line with a long sniff.  
"Let me guess, that's why you got kicked out of Cobham Hall. Again?"  
Kate sighed with pleasure as she handed Cheryl the bill who greedily accepted it.  
"Well, in our defence, the English nerds just don't know how to have fun the American way."  
Cheryl fixated on the coke with hungry eyes and leaned down, pressing one of her nostrils shut with her finger as she put the Dollar bill up to her other to inhale the whole line in one take.  
The bitter substance made its way through her nose to her mucosae and hit her nerves straight away.  
She threw her head back in ecstasy, a hysteric cackle escaping her lips.  
_This felt so good already._  
She carefully sniffed a few more times to make sure nothing of the valuable substance would get lost, while Nick pounced on the last remaining line with the same greed thatCheryl and Kate did.  
After the trio had wolfed down all that was left, Nick reached into his pocket and retrieved three round, white pills,  
"Wait, girls, there's more," he chuckled, handing each of the girls one.  
"What is that? E?"  
"A surprise," Nick grinned and promptly swallowed the pill, followed by Kate.  
_Fuck it_.  
After short-lived concerns Cheryl followed suit, slugging it down with champagne.  
_The more, the better._  
"Now the party can get started," the three of them clinked their glasses and emptied them in one gulp before exiting the bathroom.

When they headed for the stairs again, Nick grabbed Cheryl's waist and suddenly whirled her around, "Cheryl babe, wait."  
"Ohh, okay," Kate laughed knowingly and kept walking, "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone."  
Cheryl stiffened a little under Nick's hand on her waist which slowly wandered downwards. A little too far for her liking.  
"You know, it just happens that I'll have a little..," his hands was now on her hips leaving a trail of cold goosebumps behind. And not the good kind, "...private, very _fun_ afterparty in my room later," he smirked at her, his eyes darkening wolfishly. "You know, _close_ friends only."  
"Oh, is that so?"  
Cheryl didn't exactly feel like reciprocating his advances _,_ but whatever it was she had just taken plus the alcohol and the coke put her into a happy, carefree mood and a hazy smile on her lips.  
Besides, even if she had zero interest in Nick, it was niceknowing how whipped he was for her, knowing she could have him - should she feel like it - with a snap of her fingers.  
So, she let her fingers boldly dance up his collar, "If I don't have anything better to do, I'll consider it."  
Who knows, maybe he would serve as a nice distraction from.. all the stuff that's been happening lately.  
"Alright," he laughed and licked his lips.

Just when he was about to lean closer, Kate turned the corner again.  
"Nick!"  
_Oh, thank god._  
"You might want to see who just arrived!"  
Cheryl let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and snapped her head towards the other girl.  
With a groan Nick released Cheryl from his stony grip and headed towards the staircase, followed by the two girls.  
They came to a halt on the gallery, Nick gripping the handrail firmly at the sight of the new arrivals.

"What is the Southside trash doing here?" he snarled through gritted teeth when he spotted Toni, Fangs and Sweet Pea standing a little dumbfounded in the foyer, looking horribly out of place with their biker jackets and offhand nature, surrounded by rich kids in polo shirts, whose clothes alone probably cost more than the three of them earned combined.  
But regardless of her unannounced arrival, Cheryl's heart made a small jump when she laid her eyes on Toni, putting a smile, a genuine one on her lips for the first time all night as she took in the sight before her.  
It was obvious that she had put a lot of effort in her looks today, her makeup looking flawless and her hair curled into soft, pink waves, delicately falling over her usual Serpent leather jacket.  
But what took Cheryl's breath away was what she was wearing underneath. Or rather the lack thereof. Toni was dressed in a black, very _tight,_ very see through crop top that hugged her figure in all the right places and complemented her curves perfectly. The black bra she was wearing underneath was very visible, albeit not looking cheap or tacky, only added to the effect.

"I'm gonna put an end to this," Nick pushed himself away from the handrail, ready to head downstairs when Cheryl stopped him, her hand on his shoulder, "No, let them."  
She didn't want him to kick them out. Not yet and especially not Toni.  
He spun around, eyeing her with questioning, slightly bloodshot eyes.  
"I'm in the mood for chaos," she responded with a devilish grin.

It was true. Although she would never admit it out loud, his parties started to bore her lately. Always the same faces, the same narcissistic stories, bragging and boasting to each other about their possessions and achievements. It was getting monotonous, so the Serpents, as obnoxious as they were would certainly diversify things, maybe stir some trouble and Cheryl lived for the drama.

She knew exactly how to win Nick over for her column, his sudden anger evaporating at her touch and he grinned at her again, "Whatever you say, baby."  
She didn't want Toni to go, but rather.. test something, so she took Nick's hand and walked down the stairs with him, coming to a halt midway to look down on the Serpents. Both figuratively and literally.

"Well, well, well," she declared in her usual chipper voice, turning the snakes' heads towards her, "What do we have here?" she took her and Nick's intertwined hands and placed them on her waist again, Nick all too happily complying.  
Although she cringed under his cold touch, Cheryl didn't miss Toni's eyes flicking to their hands and the disapproving glance that followed, filling her with delight.  
_Good. Exactly what she had wanted.  
_"Sorry, guys, the staff are required to take the rear entrance," Nick added.

Cheryl brushed off his hands in one swift motion and continued to walk down the stairs, the drugs pumping through her system, making her feel reckless and invincible already.

"Cheryl," Toni greeted her with a cold smile, lacking the usual warmth and kindness that Cheryl loved so much, "always a pleasure to see you. I told you, a snobby party to crash is our kind of party."  
Cheryl could tell she was pissed about the cold greeting but it wasn't her fault. They were in public after all, so she couldn't just drop everything, walk up to her and hug her. Surely, Toni would understand that.  
So she fought the urge to do so and instead withstood her burning gaze.  
"Very well then," she mumbled through red lips and turned her head around.  
"Nicky," she called over her shoulder, "be a good host and offer your new guests some drinks, will you?"  
"With pleasure," he grinned and motioned towards the kitchen, "After me, friends."

Nick, Kate and Cheryl led the way to the kitchen, not missing the astonished looks on the three Serpent's faces as they took in the enormous mansion, causing the three Northisders to giggle in unison.  
After the group arrived in the kitchen, Nick gestured towards the drinks and red plastic cups, "Help yourselves, It's on the house, but-" he wiggled his finger and sneered at the three Serpents, "no stealing, please."  
"Don't worry, we're on probation," Fangs deadpanned, causing Toni to snort and Nick's scornful grin to drop.  
"Yeah," Toni added and threw a quick but meaningful glance at Cheryl, "We'll try to keep our hands to ourselves."  
With a scoff Nick turned on his heel and made his way through the crowd with Kate, leaving the four of them standing in the kitchen.

"So, Cheryl,"  
The redhead turned her head at the mention of her name.  
"Drink a beer with us?"  
"Oh, TT," Cheryl suddenly laughed stridently, a tad too loud. "Silly, silly Toni. Beer is for the plebs. our kind drinks champagne," she explained with a simper as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
As if all in sync, the whole gang rolled their eyes.  
"Of course, what was I thinking?" Toni grumbled and leaned over the kitchen unit to grab some beers for her friends, Cheryl not missing how her jacket rucked up at a little, exposing a few inches of the delicate, tanned skin on her back.  
With one swift motion she grabbed three beers, uncapped them with a lighter and handed both of the boys one.

Cheryl's eyes widened unintentionally as she watched the brunette put the bottle to her lips and tilt her head back to drink. With her eyes glued to Toni's delicate neck, she was suddenly hyper-aware of the Serpent's exposed skin on her neck and cleavage, her throat bobbing at every sip as a few drops of beer escaped her lips and dripped down her neck.  
_Even whilst drinking beer, Toni still managed to look illegally gorgeous._

Despite her... slightly intoxicated condition, she was painfully aware how blatantly she was staring at Toni, but at the same time couldn't bring herself to care, the coke and the alcohol flowing through her veins and overcasting her sane judgement.  
_How was she supposed to make it through tonight with Toni right in front of her?_  
If she didn't get something to help her loosen up a little and make this evening bearable, she would go insane.  
So without further ado she took a cup as well and hastily mixed herself a Gin + Tonic, ratio fifty-fifty, and chugged it down in one go, hoping it would take the edge off things.

The gin tasted bitter as it ran down her throat and left a cold but burning trail in her esophagus, but Cheryl didn't care. It was about the effect, not the taste, after all.  
When she lowered her cup again, she found Toni staring at her in disbelief.  
Fangs and Sweet Pea were nowhere to be seen any more, probably chasing after the very first girl they saw.. or boy in Fang's case.

"Props, Blossom. Dress like a princess, drink like a fish."  
She ignored the insult and scoffed, the gin bottle already in her hand again.  
"Oh, please," she turned around after her cup was refilled and drawled with a smirk,  
"You'd be surprised about what I can do."  
_Oh, where did that come from?_  
Toni raised her eyebrow in similar surprise but made no move to retreat.  
"Oh, really?" she purred and tilted her head. "Is that a threat or a flirt?"  
Cheryl could feel her chest surge with heat at the sudden shift in the mood but had no intention to stop.  
"Well.."  
Feeling more alcohol making its way into her system, she pushed it further and leaned closer to the shorter girl, claiming her personal space, but if Toni was affected by the sudden proximity, she didn't let on.  
"..I guess you have to find out for yourself," she slowly breathed out.  
"Is that so?" the other girl chuckled carefully, unsure if Cheryl was playing another game or seriously flirting with her, but decided to roll with it.  
"You know I _love_ a good challenge," she added whilst biting her bottom lip, causing Cheryl's eyes to helplessly drop to her full lips and she knew she shouldn't find that so sexy but _damn_ she certainly did.  
They were standing merely a few inches apart now, so close that Cheryl could smell Toni's perfume and the beer on her breath, but neither girl receded, the taller girl's heart making excited frisks in her chest.

The drink she had mixed must have been stronger than she thought, the alcohol bemusing her mind, time flowing by slower than usual as her eyes remained glued to Toni's lips. Before she knew it, her hand had found Toni's, their fingers intertwining automatically.  
Her hand was so soft and warm, Toni's tender but strong fingers fitting so delicately into Cheryl's when she clasped their hands, Toni complying all to happily and thankfully not commenting.

Even though it was a completely novel feeling for Cheryl, she couldn't get enough of the feeling of Toni's touch on her skin, even if it was something as trivial as hand holding. She already loved it, savouring the moment for a second before lifting her head to meet Toni's gaze again, the girl watching her with a mix between curiosity and awebut also uncertainty and caution. She looked gorgeous. As always. It almost pained Cheryl to look at her.

_Fuck it._

Without warning she almost yanked Toni closer and let her fingers dance up her arm,  
"You know what I need?" she whispered in her ear, the effect it had on Toni not lost on Cheryl.  
Poor girl must have been hella confused by her sudden change of demeanour.  
_Good._  
Toni tested the waters by cautiously placing her hand on Cheryl's waist, the additional contact causing Cheryl to let out a shaky breath.  
"Tell me, Bombshell," she smirked, her lips edging closer to Cheryl's ear.  
The redhead decided to relish the moment a little more and torture the other girl with tense silence before giggling and pressing her cup into Toni's hand, a tacit prompt to get them more to drink. "For the both of us to get wasted."  
After all, it wasn't fair that she was the only to be inebriated and she was doing to see what a tipsy Toni would be like.  
Toni rolled her eyes, looking slightly disappointed by the answer but complying nonetheless, chugging down her beer and walked off towards the drinks again.  
"Make it strong, Cha-Cha."

 

While Toni filled their cups again, Cheryl leaned against the counter and allowed herself to think for a minute, well as good as she could right now given her cloudy mind.  
She was high as a kite already, that was for sure.  
She was shamelessly flirting with Toni, that she also was aware of.  
To top it all, she knew damn well she shouldn't be doing it. It was wrong in every way. It was unfair for Toni to play with her feelings like that, it was wrong because it was _a girl_ she was flirting with and to make matters worse a _Serpent_ girl, but the worst damage would be done to Cheryl's reputation.  
They were in public after all, surrounded by people who knew who Cheryl was and judged her within the blink of an eye - solely based on the fact who she was talking to – people who knew her _mother_.

Cheryl's grin quickly left her face as she froze. Oh dear god, her _mother._  
What was she doing? If her mother could see her now, oh, she would explode. She would send her away again, hit her, disown her.  
Sudden panic rose up in her chest at the realization.  
She would kick her out for good, call her deviant and perverted again. Her mind was spinning now, shaken by the thought of her loveless mother.

But as quickly as her worries had come, they were gone again, replaced by a friskiness, that even Cheryl didn't know where it had come from, making her burst out in sudden, erratic laughter.  
Oh holy shit, her mother would go  _ballistic._ Cheryl couldn't contain her laughter now at the thought of a furious, red-headed Penelope. Come to think of it, the whole situation was funny, hilarious actually.  
And that alone was reason enough to keep going with her little game.  
Even if its sole purpose was to spite up her mother.  
It's not like it was going anywhere anyway.

With two filled cups in her hands Toni made her way towards Cheryl again.  
"Heeere you go!" The slight slur in her voice gave her intoxication away when she handed Cheryl her drink. The redhead accepted the drink and put her hand up, her fingers brushing Toni's again in another act of unintentional deliberation.  
Toni's breathing became noticeably heavier and that alone filled Cheryl with all the confidence she needed.  
"Wanna play a game?" she smirked knowingly, a malicious plan already forming in her mind.  
"That depends."  
"On what?"  
Toni took the moment to let her eyes flicker dangerously down Cheryl's body, the desire in her dark eyes enough to make Cheryl's face flush with heat.  
"On what I can win," Toni finally breathed out.  
_Oh god,_ Cheryl thought, _I am so doomed._  
With what little reason she had left in her she shuddered, hoping to recompose herself.  
"It's not always about winning, you know?"  
"What if there's something I want to win?" Her eyes roamed not so discretely over Cheryl's body.  
Her previous question answered itself, a tipsy Toni Topaz was even more fun.  
"Then," she returned her playful smirk, "you will have to prove yourself."  
"I think I can do that," she winked, taking another sip from her cup. "What game are we talking about?"  
Cheryl followed suit and slowly lifted her cup to her lips before answering.  
"How about Two Truths and One Lie?"  
"Okay. I'm in."  
"Wonderful," Cheryl tittered again, "you start."  
"Okay, let's see," Toni bit her lip and contemplated for a minute (And she looked gorgeous whilst doing so). "This is gonna be hella embarrassing but fuck it. One: I actually need glasses but obviously look like a hideous nerd in them, so that's a big no. Two: I can't swim. Never learned it, never needed it. Three: When I was 13, part of my Serpent initiation was stripping in front of like 40 old men."  
"One is a lie," Cheryl answered without missing a beat, earning an impressed look from Toni.  
"Two lies actually. First I'm pretty sure, you don't need glasses. Second, even if you did, you wouldn't look hideous." Toni raised her eyebrow in question.  
"You'd look _smoking_ _,_ " she added and emphasized the last word.  
Toni laughed and hastily took another sip of her drink in an attempt to hide the blush on her cheeks but Cheryl wasn't fooled.

"Ballsy today, aren't we?" Toni lowered her cup again and eyed Cheryl with an amused expression.  
"What can I say?" she deadpanned, absentmindedly putting one of Toni's pink strands between her fingers and playing with it. "It feels nice to let go from time to time."  
It shouldn't have come out that pitiful but it did, Toni's leer faltering to a sympathetic smile as Cheryl berated herself for shifting their flirty mood like that. She was sick of crying and being sad all the time. For this evening at least, she wanted to let loose and have fun. So before Toni had the chance to comfort her again and unleash another swell of emotions, she carefully arranged her face into a cheeky smile again and added,  
"Besides, don't act like you don't like it."  
"Oh," Toni laughed again and that sight alone made Cheryl happy again, "True. I didn't say I don't. I'm just.. pleasantly surprised, that's all."  
"Trust me, I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve to surprise you, TT."  
_Oops._  
She hadn't meant to say that out loud, but her tongue was being quicker than her mind again.  
Toni choked slightly on her beer and gulped visibly, but not uncomfortably.  
With a skeptical stare, she eyed Cheryl, almost as if to decipher if she was being serious or would name and shame her again in a second.  
But Cheryl _was_ serious and held her gaze, non-verbally asking her to trust her.

"In that case, I suddenly love surprises," Toni grinned at her again. "Care to.. demonstrate said surprises?"  
Cheryl rolled her eyes and lightly slapped her arm. "Eyes on the prize, Topaz. It's my turn now."  
"Oh, they already are," Toni whispered, her eyes unabashedly roaming over Cheryl's body, setting her whole torso on fire under her burning gaze.  
_Focus._  
She inhaled shakily and tried to concentrate.  
"Topaz," she rebuked her again, Toni pouting her lip in phony disappointment  
"Pay attention. One: When I was younger, I wanted to become a fashion designer. Two: I occasionally sleepwalk when I'm stressed or having a nightmare. Three.." she leaned closer to Toni's ear and breathed out, "I've never kissed a girl."  
Toni threw her head back and mouthed, 'Fuck' before fixing Cheryl with narrowed eyes again.  
"Okay, I can definitely picture a four year old Cheryl Bombshell planning on taking over the fashion world, so that's probably true. Mmm..." she put her index to her lip, "I also know for a fact that you're sleepwalking because I've seen you once or twice."  
"Oh, you did?" That surprised Cheryl. The pills she took for her insomnia and nightmares caused her to sleep so deeply, she never knew when she had been sleepwalking or not. She had no idea that Toni knew anything about it.  
"Yes, but it's no big deal," Toni was obviously eager to get back on track. "If One and Two are true that means Three is a lie.. that means you.. have kissed a.. girl?" She lowered her voice and her eyes widened hopefully and Cheryl laughed at the sight.  
"No comment on that one," she brushed it off, neither confirming nor denying Toni's guess.  
It _was_ true but Cheryl didn't want to go into detail about that story. After all, if she couldn't admit to herself what had happened with Heather, how could she talk about it? But was a subject for another time..

"It's your turn again."  
"Not fair." Toni lifted her finger warningly. "But okay. Let me think.. Uhm.. One: I've been arrested before. Twice. Two: I once hooked up with Sweet Pea and kissed Jughead.." Cheryl unwillingly cringed, instantly hoping that was the lie, "Three: I... usually sleep naked."  
Cheryl's disgusted grimace quickly morphed into a cheeky grin again.  
"Okay, I really hope Two is the lie and Three the truth."  
"Oh, Blossom," Toni looked more than satisfied. "Jealous much?"  
"Mhh, you wish," she drawled, berating herself again for the warmth she could feel on her cheeks again, "I merely think you're out of their league."  
She shrugged it off before Toni had the chance to dig deeper, "So? Am I right?"  
"No, actually," Toni shook her head in laughter, "I have been arrested. But three times instead of two," she dismissed Cheryl's incredulous stare with a shrug, "As for Two: It's true but in my defence, I was drunk when Sweets happened-," a disgusted 'Eww' escaped Cheryl's lips,  
"-and Jughead.. Well, I only kissed him to vex Betty a little. And to Three.." Cheryl beamed up again, "I _do_ prefer sleeping naked but not when people are around. Obviously."  
"Oh, don't mind me," Cheryl chimed as nonchalant as possible, "I wouldn't want to stand in the way of your adequate sleep hygiene."  
"Cheryl Blossom," Toni's mouth dropped open in amusement and she shoved her slightly, "Not that I mind you insolently flirting with me but are you high or something?"  
Cheryl choked on her drink and chuckled nervously, instantly feeling caught redhanded, but quickly recomposed herself.  
_Relax, she was just joking._  
"Do I look like I need drugs to have a good time?" Truth be told, if she had known she was going to be spending most of her evening with Toni, she would have probably avoided the drugs all together, wanting to remember as much of tonight as possible.  
Toni shook her head.  
"You know what?" Cheryl quickly changed the topic before Toni had a chance to answer.  
She slugged down her third drink, nodded towards the speakers and cried out, "I _love_ this song."  
She didn't. Truth be told, she didn't even know it, but it was catchy and good to dance to.  
And that's exactly what she wanted to do right now.

 

Maybe it was the drugs, maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was something completely different but Cheryl knew that she had to dance.  
She had to act out the euphoria and elation she was feeling in this moment.  
Being here. Being high. Being with Toni. The picture was complete and the moment perfect.  
So naturally, she took Toni's hand in her own again and asked, "Dance with me, TT?" though it was more like a prompt and without awaiting her response dragged her to the dining room where the music was playing, blasting loudly from the speakers and filling the room.

She had to dance with Toni and they had to do it now.  
Of course, she wanted to let out all this surplus energy, but she also kind of really wanted to see Toni dance again. Ever since the Serpent's Vixens tryout her swaying hips hadn't left Cheryl's mind, driving her insane. She would give anything to see the shorter girl dance again.

The dining room was well-filled and Cheryl and Toni were pushed closer together by the dancing crowd around them.  
She turned around again, pulling the brunette closer and put her arms around her neck.  
She wanted to feel her touch again, craved it, even closer, replicating the infatuating feeling of comfort and safety she felt when Toni's hand laid on her waist yesterday morning.  
The wariness in the shorter girl's face was impossible to miss but she didn't comment on Cheryl suddenly unabashedly touching her.  
Cheryl knew she wouldn't be so unashamed, had she been sober but right now she was high, she was drunk and she was pumped up, so she couldn't care less.  
With the music pumping through her ears, alcohol flowing through her veins and Toni's body pressed to hers, she couldn't be happier.  
She closed her eyes and lulled her head back in ecstasy, letting the music control her movements, her hips swaying rhythmically and her body skilfully moving along to the beat.  
She pressed herself closer to Toni, waiting for her to object but she didn't. Instead the shorter girl placed her hands on Cheryl's waist and moved her body in sync to hers, sending her to cloud nine.

She didn't notice anything else happening around her, didn't worry about the sweaty bodies pressed to hers, didn't bother about the heat, all she could hear was the music, all she could see and feel was Toni.

The other girl let her hands slowly wander around Cheryl's body to her lower back, her fingers feeling like fire, leaving hot sparks on her skin.  
Cheryl, in turn, moved her hands from Toni's back slowly downwards, her fingers lightly brushing her dark skin over her cheekbones, down her cleavage, lingering a little longer as they danced over her chest, down, between her breasts towards her belly, hoping it had the same tantalising effect on her as it did on Cheryl and judging by her satisfied grin and the way she bit her lip, Cheryl had succeed.  
Cheryl wanted the moment to go on forever, but she knew what wasn't possible when they were together so publicly like this.

Who knew how long they had danced like this, probably only a few minutes but Cheryl's track of time was _slightly_ impaired, the seconds feeling like hours. She wanted to enjoy every single one.  
Even in her drug fueled haze, she was sure of one thing. She didn't want this to end. Ever.  
But the alcohol and the drugs thwarted her plans as it become more and more arduous to stand upright on her increasingly wobbly legs.

 

"Let's get more drinks," she shouted over the music into Toni's ear.  
"Or..," the shorter girl moved her hand from Cheryl's back to her hand and spun her once before pulling her closer again, "..we could stay here."  
_Damn, she really was a skilled dancer._  
As much as she wanted to keep dancing with Toni, she also didn't trust her ability to stand up straight any more and really didn't want to collapse in front of Toni _again._  
"I'd love to, TT, but," she intertwined their fingers, "I need to sit down, I think."  
The expression on the other girl's face immediately shifted to a worried one as her eyes scanned over Cheryl. "Okay, come on then."  
The two girls walked hand in hand through the dining hall and the foyer, aiming for a couch in the corner of the living room, that was almost empty, the only people present some familiar faces from RHBS.  
Toni sat down first, followed by Cheryl who promptly placed herself in Toni's lap, closer than necessary. She lifted her feet on the couch and wrapped her right arm around Toni's shoulders.  
"You really are full of surprises, aren't you?" Toni husked with a grin, but reciprocated the touch, putting her own arms around Cheryl's midriff.  
"I know you like it, Cha-Cha," Cheryl winked at her, lazily caressing the back of her neck with her thumb.  
"Oh, I do," Toni breathed, pulling her even closer until they were practically engulfed.  
"In fact, I really, _really_ like that."  
"Quite the shift in dynamic, don't you think?" Cheryl laughed. "I mean, considering the fact that you pulled my hair in the cafeteria less than a week ago."  
"Hey," Toni faux-pouted, "you make it sound like I'm the one fighting dirty."  
" _Don't_ you fight.." Cheryl teased, her fingers innocently playing with the collar of Toni's leather jacket, "... _dirty?_ "

Toni immediately caught on the innuendo and whispered, "If by dirty you mean.. biting, scratching, pulling hair," her voice was choked with lust and desire and Cheryl could feel her heart picking up speed. "Then yes," she leaned closer, holding Cheryl's burning gaze, "I _do_ fight..  _dirty_."  
_Holy shit.  
_Suddenly Cheryl was more than thankful that they were sitting because if she couldn't have stood up straight before, she definitely wouldn't be able to now, her whole body trembling with excitement and agitation as she took in Toni's salacious allusion and had to bite down the moan that threatened to escape her lips.

 

"Cheryl!" a familiar face suddenly came into view.  
It took Cheryl's fuzzy vision a second to recognise Kate approach the pair with a less than pleased expression.  
"A word if I may?"  
That wasn't a question and judging by the bite in her voice, it wasn't friendly either.  
With a groan Cheryl disentangled herself from Toni's hug, whose questioning eyes went back and forth between the two girls, and reluctantly walked a few meters aside out off Toni's earshot.

"What is it, dear?" she asked innocently.  
"Care to elaborate what exactly it is you're doing?" Kate demanded with a cold smile.  
"Care to elaborate what you're talking about?"  
"The gang of misfits you're associating with? Obviously."  
"If it is the Serpents your're referring to, I can assure I have as little as possible to do with them as I can."  
"Well, you dancing cheek-to-cheek with the pink-haired greaser over there," she nodded towards Toni, still seated on the couch and staring daggers at Kate for interrupting their moment, "tells a different story."  
"Toni? Oh no, she's alright. She's actually my roommate and different from-"  
"Cheryl," Kate interrupted her sternly and put up her finger, "I'm just looking out for you. These people are not your friends. _We_ are."  
"First of all, I appreciate your concern, albeit being _de trop._ Besides, I despise the Serpents as much as you guys do, but Toni _is_ different, trust me."  
Kate rolled her eyes and sighed,  
"People are talking, you know. And be advised that befriending a girl like _that_ puts you in a bad light, hence Nick and me and I can't let you do that."  
What was that supposed to mean? Was she threatening her now? Admittedly, she _may_ have a point, Toni wasn't exactly the kind of person Cheryl wanted to be associated with, but she really started to like the other girl and she did her good. Regardless of how deep Toni would drag her down socially, she could use a friend right now.

"Thanks for the TED talk, Kate. Now if you'll excuse me."  
She turned around, about to make her way back to Toni but was stopped midway.  
"A word of advice?" Kate hissed and grabbed her arm. "You might want to reconsider who your _true_ friends are."  
She leaned closer and whispered, "I'd hate for you to end up all alone."

Cheryl's face dropped and she gulped. She hated herself for thinking that, but maybe, just maybe Kate  _was_ right. Toni was not only from a whole different world but also a bad influence, she couldn't deny that and she had known her for less than a week, come to think of it she barely knew anything about her, whereas the St. Clairs had been her friends for two years now.  
And besides, their parties were all about seeing and being seen and publicly engaging with a Southsider would certainly destroy her reputation and Cheryl was not willing to let her societal facade crumble just because of one Serpent girl.

But on the other hand, she knew, she could _feel_ that Toni was different, she trusted her like she didn't trust anyone else around her and maybe she was naive for doing so but if being friends with Toni resulted in her demise, then so be it.

"There you guys are!" Another bothersome voice ripped her out of her thoughts and both girls turned their heads to its source. Nick tottered towards them with a befuddled, crooked grin.  
_Ugh, he was drunk again._  
"What are my two favourite girls up to?"  
"Oh, nothing," Kate waved her hand dismissively. "We were just talking about Cheryl's.. newfound friendships. That's all."  
With one last glare at Cheryl she turned on her heel and walked off.  
"The Southside thugs?" Nick slurred and raised his eyebrows at Cheryl after Kate was gone.  
"What do you want with these losers anyway?"  
"For the last time, I am not friends with the Serpents," Cheryl barked. She was growing more and more sick of this back and forth. She didn't want to have to chose between her friends. It felt like a cruel choice between reason and emotion and the fact that the last bit of sanity in her told her to stay away from Toni, overwhelmed her.  
"Whatever," he shrugged and changed the topic. "I have a surprise for you."

Cheryl was not in the mood for his drunk avances now, every fibre of her body craving Toni again but she held back, knowing she couldn't give in again and glared fretfully at Nick.  
"What is it?"  
"Ditch the stray and join the _real_ party," he slightly opened his suit coat to discretely reveal his inside pocket, Cheryl's eyes widening at the sight of the six Pixie sticks in it. "What do you think?"

All her previous concerns were abandoned at the sight of the Jingle-Jangle in his pocket and she didn't need to think twice.  
"Nick St. Clair," she rejoiced with an excited grin, "you are a godsend."  
Cheryl didn't want to think any more, she was sick of having to make decisions, so she opted for the easier path, the one she had been walking her whole life and ensured her undisputed position at the top of the hierarchy.  
So she ignored the slight ache in her heart and took Nick's hand.

In a few minutes she wouldn't have to think any more anyway.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually planned on putting the party in one chapter but it was too much, so the next chapter will be the rest of the party, its aftermath and lots of drama


	15. The Party II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toni is oblivious, takes things the wrong way and ends up being hurt and sad.  
> Cheryl is just trying to have a good time and cant't understand what got Toni so riled up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ! Trigger warning: Heavy substance abuse and light sexual assault (groping) !

Toni's jaw slacked open as she disbelievingly stared after Cheryl and the rich prick walking away, hand in hand, like she and Cheryl had done all evening.  
_Seriously?  
_Toni was at a loss for words.  
She knew she was drunk and her judgement impaired, to say the least, but she couldn't swallow down the anger that arose in her chest.  
Was this _a game_ to her? Was _this_ her scheme?  
Getting her hopes up, teasing her, _touching_ her and now _this?_

Before her mind could spin any more, she noticed a weight plump down next to her and turned her head to see Fangs grinning at her.  
"Whatever it is you want to say, just get it over with," she rolled her eyes.  
"So... you and Blossom, huh? Interesting turn of events."  
"There is no _me and Blossom,_ " she scoffed, "Did you not see her leave with that snob?"  
"I have, that's why I took my chance to talk to you now. 'Cause the way you were glued together made it impossible to get you alone."  
"Your point being?"  
"No point," he shrugged and grinned innocently, "just observing how close you guys got. That's all."

Toni eyed him sternly for a moment before slumping back into the couch in defeat.  
She was growing tired of denying her feelings, so she might as well confide in her friend.  
"I just don't get it, you know?" she sighed, pressing the bridge of her nose.  
"One minute she's flirting _furiously_ with me, not giving a fuck about anything, the next she leaves me high and dry to hang with her preppy friends. I mean, you've seen it, too, right? She _was_ flirting with me, wasn't she?"  
Suddenly she was not so sure anymore what had happened and what she _wished_ had happened. She never could be with Cheryl.

"Wow," Fangs faced her with a stupid grin, "You _do_ like her, don't you?"  
"Oh, shut up, Fogarty."  
He laughed but held back from teasing her any further.  
"And to answer your question, she definitely was flirting with you."  
Toni's head perked up and she skeptically stared at her friend.  
_So she wasn't imagining things.  
_"The touching, the dancing, the _looks_ she gave you," he explained when he was met with silence, "If the girl is not into you, I'll eat my hat."

Toni scoffed.  
For some reason, she found that very hard to believe.  
"Or she is playing some sick game with me," she spat bitterly.  
"No," Fangs objected softly, "I don't think so. I really think she might like you. For real."  
Toni hated how her heart skipped a beat at that. She wanted to be mad at her, wanted to blame her for the cruel things she - probably unknowingly - did to her but deep down, she knew she couldn't.

"What happened to 'she doesn't have a heart and I hate her guts'?" she asked, trying to change the subject.  
"Oh, I still do," he said, taking another sip from his beer.  
"But I try to give her the benefit of the doubt and I trust your judgement. If you're.. _friends_ with her, then she can't be _that_ bad."

Toni hummed absentmindedly, her hands fidgeting with her empty cup as her gaze wandered around the room around until it landed on a poolof ginger hair in the hallway.

"Fangs!" she shot up and slapped his arm, pointing at Cheryl and Nick aiming for a door at the end of the hallway.  
Fangs sat up as well and squinted at the pair, no more than 20 meters away.  
"Where do you think they're headed?"  
"I don't know," Toni mumbled, a disquieting feeling settling in her chest.  
"But I have a feeling we're about to find out."

Nick opened the door to what looked like a giant _bathroom,_ nervously glanced around for any witnessing eyes before he and Cheryl slipped inside and swiftly closed the door behind them.

"The fucking bathroom?" Toni uttered, "Seriously?"  
Cheryl left her standing to hook up with this dude in a bathroom?  
She couldn't believe it. Didn't want to.  
"Yikes," Fangs made a disgusted grimace. "That sucks. I'm sorry, Toni."  
"Don't be," she mumbled and unclenched her fists, trying to calm her nerves.

Whatever her reasons were, Toni would not let Cheryl ruin her evening. She was here with her friends and to have a good time and she _would_ have fun.  
Be it with or without Cheryl.

So without another word she turned to Fangs, took his beer out of his hands and chugged it down in one go before he had the chance to react.  
"Hey," he protested weakly but Toni was already finished, stood up and made her way towards the kitchen to get more drinks for her friends and her.

The only way to make this evening bearable now was with alcohol.

 

* * *

 

 

One hour and god knows how many shots later Toni found herself on the dance floor, grinding her ass against Sweet Pea's midriff.

After her talk with Fangs and the... _discovery_ about what Cheryl was really doing _,_ it hadn't taken her long to find her other best friend, leaned against the wall, talking to some preppy Northside girl in a polo shirt, whose presence Toni didn't even bother to acknowledge and Sweet Peat had quickly forgotten about either, when she took him by his collar and dragged him with her towards the kitchen to get some shots.

And just like that, one thing led to another and here they were, both wasted and besotted, having _a little_ too much fun and dancing _a little_ too close together, just like she and Cheryl have done earlier.  
Toni had tried her hardest to shake the redhead off her mind but kept failing miserably, so she had decided it was time for a distraction and although Sweet Pea was not Cheryl and his touches couldn't compare to the feeling of her hand brushing Toni's skin or her hand searching for hers, he was the next best thing.

Besides, flirting with Sweet Pea was always fun. They knew each inside out, always knowing what the other felt and liked and what felt good, but alas that's all it was.  
Fun.  
Nothing more.  
No sparks, no mystery, no tension, nothing he did could even come close to how she felt when she was with Cheryl...

But he would do for tonight, nonetheless.

Just when she turned around and was about to wrap her arms around his neck, a glimpse of red hair in the crowd caught her eye and the one person that hadn't left her mind the past hour approached them with determined strides and a stilted smile that tried too hard to conceal the disapproving frown on her face.

"There you are," Cheryl cried out - a tad too loud - when she came to a halt in front of them.  
Toni rolled her eyes, slowly let go of Sweet Pea and turned to face her.  
_Now that she was dancing with someone else, she suddenly remembered her existence?_  
Cheryl thrusted herself between her and Sweet Pea and reached for Toni's hand.  
"Come on, let's get something to drink. I'll make you a Martini you'll never forget."  
Of course, she would be lying if she said that she didn't enjoy Cheryl's touch again and that her sudden jealousy, or almost possessiveness, didn't turn her on, but Toni reminded herself that she was still pissed and couldn't give in to her again.  
Cheryl had to learn that she couldn't treat her like this.

So she shook her hand off in one swift motion.  
"Can't you see I'm busy?" she barked and Cheryl's smile faltered.  
"What are you talking about? Come on," she reached her hand out again, but Toni receded.  
She hated how hurt she sounded but told herself that it was for the best.  
"I said no." She would not let herself be downgraded to the second choice, only good enough when Nick wasn't in sight.

"You heard her," Sweet Pea now stepped in and made a move to cautiously usher her aside, when Cheryl suddenly whirled around at his touch and snapped,  
"Careful there, hobo, my jacket is worth more than your entire life, so watch your paws!"

Toni's jaw slacked open.  
_Unbelievable.  
_Just when she thought, she had changed, she turned out to be the same classist, spoilt brat who still looked down at the Serpents.

With a disgusted frown Toni stepped around Cheryl and took Sweet Pea's hand.  
"Come on, Pea, we're leaving."  
She turned around, shooting a last glare at Cheryl who desperately shouted after her,  
"Wait, Toni, please. I didn't mean to.." but her words died down in the music.

 

Toni led them to the living room, not in the mood for dancing anymore, and joined Kevin and Fangs on the couch, Sweet Pea trying to pick off where they left, letting his hand saunter up Toni's leg but to no avail.

She was way too pissed now to think about flirting and if she was being honest with herself, she had only led him on, so she brusquely brushed his hand off her knee and crossed her arms over her chest.

Sweet Pea got the hint to drop it, sighed and stood up, aiming for the Northside girl with whom he talked prior and tried her luck with her again, whereas Toni spent the next 15 minutes sulking and half-heartedly partaking in Fangs' and Kevin's conversation, when a high-pitched voice interrupted them.

"Alright, party people!"  
The shrill voice pierced the room, Fangs' and Toni's gazes darting to a very buzzed Veronica leaning against the doorway for support.  
"Time for some ga-haames," she whooped and lifted her red cup.

Most people immediately left the room to continue the party elsewhere, the only remaining people being Toni, Sweets, Fangs, the Core Four, two Bulldog jocks and three of Cheryl's Vixens whose names Toni still hadn't bothered to learn.  
Just when she considered standing up and leaving as well – she has had enough games for tonight, after all – she saw Nick and Cheryl waltz into the room, her plans promptly discarded.  
Her eyes met Cheryl's when she looked for a place to sit down, her eyes darting to the couch the brunette was sitting on but Toni didn't make a move to make enough space for her.  
So, Cheryl sat down on the opposite couch with Nick in tow, facing her over the coffee table.

"Okaaay," Veronica lurched to the small table and laid a bottle in its middle. "Truth or drink! The person the bottle points to, has to answer a question _truthfully_ ," she emphasized with a lifted index finger, "or can bypass the question by drinking. Tout compris? Great, Let's start."  
When she was met with approving nodding and mumbling, she spun the bottle and squealed when it pointed to poor Betty.  
_Oh god, the girl was way too excited bout this._  
"Okay, B. How is..." she drawled and wiggled her eyebrows, "-..sex with Jughead?"  
"Oh god, V," Betty covered her face in embarrassment and took a sip from her cup, eliciting a hysterical giggle from Veronica, "I take that as a 'good'."  
With an overly-excited smirk she spun the bottle again.

Toni's eyes flicked to Cheryl again who was now lazily rocking her head in circles to the music, leaving Toni wondering if the girl even noticed anything that was happening around her, because by the looks of it, she seemed to be  _completely_ zoned out. 

Veronica asked two other poor guys way too inappropriate questions, but Toni paid them no mind, her eyes still set on Cheryl who was now suddenly sitting upright in her seat, her hands and legs twitchy, fidgeting with her bracelet and giggling erratically whenever Nick, who looked equally befuddled, whispered something in her ear with this ugly shit-eating grin of his.  
First of all, what the hell was up with Cheryl and second, _fucking asshole_.  
Toni hated him already.

She only teared her gaze off them when the bottle Veronica just spun came to a halt in front of Cheryl who blinked slowly as if to register what was happening and let out another high-pitched snort when she saw the bottle pointing at her.

"Hah! What do you got for me, Lodge?" she looked challengingly at Veronica who returned the stare and smirked.  
"Okay, Cheryl, my question for you would be.." Toni unconsciously leaned forward in her seat, curious about the raven-haired girl's question for her.  
"Do you like someone in this room?" Veronica asked with a mischievous grin and Cheryl's eyes widened just like Toni's did.

She hated how her heart picked up speed and her hands got somewhat sweaty, although knowing all too well what Cheryl's answer would be, but it would still hurt, so she braced herself for the disappointment what was about to follow.

But there wasn't anything.

Toni allowed her eyes to settle on Cheryl again, who was now visibly uncomfortable and thrown off course by the blunt question and gulped.  
Next to Toni, Fangs probably having the same thought as Toni, he nudged her excitedly. 

After what felt like forever, Cheryl straightened and forced a laughter before putting her cup to her lips and took a long sip.

Toni's heart dropped.

It didn’t take an expert to decipher that answer.  
If Cheryl Blossom didn’t like anyone in this room, she would make sure to express her disgust about every single person present and would go on a rant how nobody was worthy of her or something like that.

But she didn't.

Instead she eluded the question by drinking, meaning she _did_ like someone...  
And judging by the disgusting, obnoxious grin on Nick St. Asshole's face and his hand slowly caressing her knee, Toni didn't need three guesses to figure out who the fuck she meant.  
But that didn't mean, it hurt any less.  
Of course, Cheryl didn't like _her_ like that, that was wishful thinking, and Toni was being naive. Once again.  
_You fucking idiot._

"Ohh," Veronica whooped. "I think we all know what that means."  
_Yes, Veronica, we do, now shut up._

"No offense, but this sucks," one of the guys interjected, earning a death glare from Veronica.  
"Let's step this up a bit and turn it into Dare or Drink. How 'bout that?"  
"Fine, Reginald," Veronica crossed her arms. "I dare you to leave then."

Toni suddenly shot up.  
She was here to have fun after all and now she was even more determined to have a _good_ time. And she certainly didn't need Cheryl for that.

"I'm in."  
All heads turned to her, and amongst them Cheryl incredulously staring at Toni, but she didn't pay her any attention.  
Two could play this game and now she was hellbent on winning.

"Come on, Ronnie," she purred as sweetly as she could, fluttering her eyelashes at the raven-haired girl, feeling Cheryl's death glare pierce through both her and Veronica.  
"Or are you scared I might steal you from Archie?" she added with a wink.  
"Toni Topaz," Veronica gushed, obviously flattered, "Who knew you could be such a tease?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Toni saw Cheryl gaping at them with a clenched jaw and decided to push it farther.  
"Oh trust me, Lodge, I can be even more than that," she added and flicked her tongue out against her lip, slowly biting her bottom lip, hoping it would rile up Cheryl even more.  
She kept her eyes on Veronica, throwing her another suggestive smirk, but didn't miss Cheryl's posture stiffen as she sat up and continued to stare down both Veronica and Toni.  
_Good. Get a taste of your own medicine._

"Okay, but only because I can't say no to these sexy eyes of yours," Veronica gave in and leaned down over the coffee table, ready to spin the bottle again.  
"Dare or Drink it is then."

 _Yes,_ Toni whispered to herself in triumph.  
_That was surprisingly easy. Now for the second part of her plan._

Fangs leaned closer, warily eyed her and mouthed,  
"What the fuck, Toni?"  
  
"What?" she shrugged as innocently as she could, pretending not to know what he meant, "This is a party, isn't it?"  
Fangs knew her too well and would see through her in a second, so she averted his gaze before he had the chance to dig deeper and focused on the table in front of her again.

The bottle spun around and around and until it slowed down and stopped at Jughead.  
"Juggy," Toni leaned forward and rested her hands on her knees. She wanted to steer this into a slightly more sexual direction "I dare you to spend seven minutes in heaven with Betty."  
Jughead and Betty tried to hide their smiles under a phony groan and complied, making their way towards the broom closet.  
_Gross._ Toni shuddered and was quick to take the bottle up.

She spun it again and this time it landed on Nick who grinned repellently.  
He sat up and narrowed his gaze on Toni, who suppressed the urge to stand up and slap him across his preppy face, but instead returned his arrogant, cold smile.

"What do you got for me, snake?"  
She held his challenging glare and drawled, "Kiss a boy of your choice."

He scoffed and wrinkled his nose,  
“Do I look like a pansy to you?” he quickly grabbed his champagne flute, “Hell no.”  
Oh, wow, spoilt _and_ homophobic. Charming.  
Toni and Fangs exchanged annoyed glances and she leaned forward to spin the bottle again. 

The bottle spun in circles until it slowed down and eventually came to a halt right in front of Cheryl, unforgivingly pointing at her.  
The redhead sighed, visibly annoyed and let her head rest on her arm.

Toni opened her mouth to speak, but before she had the chance to come up with a funny dare to get back at her, Veronica preempted her.  
  
"I dare you to kiss the hottest person in the room," she excitedly burst out.

 _What. the. fuck, Lodge?_    
Toni felt the colour draining from her face as she took her disbelieving stare off the raven-haired, that had just managed to successfully balk Toni's plans, and turned to Cheryl, closely taking in her reaction, the redhead looking equally overwhelmed as she nervously shifted in her seat.  
Her eyes instinctively shot to Toni, the helplessness evident in them, when their eyes met.  
  
Toni's clenched features softened when she saw the powerlessness in her eyes and she immediately regretted having come up with this and putting Cheryl in this uncomfortable situation. That's not what she had wanted. She just wanted to tease her a little, get back at her, but not like this. She didn't mean to make her uncomfortable.

But to her surprise, Cheryl's tense expression relaxed the second Toni's lips formed an encouraging smile.

And for a moment, for a split second, Toni could swear their surroundings vanished and time stopped. She didn't notice the people around her anymore, didn't hear the music coming from the hall, now nothing more than a dull background sound, didn't see the Bulldogs, the Vixens, Nick and every other pesky person in this room.

All she saw was Cheryl.  
Her lost eyes staring right back at Toni..  
And for this brief moment she could swear Cheryl felt it too.

The way she looked at her, the flare in her eyes.... it almost resembled something like...  _lust?_ Longing even.  
Maybe Cheryl had meant her earlier?  
Maybe there _was_ a chance after all?  
Heat surged in Toni's chest as the memories of Cheryl's body pressed against hers when they danced together, flooded in on her.  
She couldn't have possibly flirted with her without meaning any of it, could she?  
Surely, there had to be something.

Cheryl's gaze dropped to Toni's mouth and she _ever_ _so slightly_ bit her lip. Oh, these damn lips...

But then, as quickly as it had come, the moment ended in smoke, Cheryl snapping back to reality with a blink, avoiding Toni's eyes and turned her head, giving Nick a sloppy kiss and thus brutally bursting Toni's bubble.

The Serpent scoffed and clenched her fists, letting herself fall back into the couch.  
She knew now Cheryl had a thing for Nick, but she didn't need to see it.

_Way to get your heart fucked up twice this evening, Topaz._

Why was she being so fucking naive again?

 

 

* * *

 

 

  
Cheryl didn't really know how she ended up dancing with Nick or why his lips kept wandering to her neck and his hands over her body, her memories of the last hours nothing more than a blended mix of blurred pictures in her mind.  
Why was she with Nick, when she was dancing and having fun with Toni just ten minutes ago?

 _Toni.  
_Her lips curled up to a shy smile at the thought of the pink-haired Serpent.  
They had had so much fun together, Cheryl found herself genuinely enjoying the Serpent's company, it was actually astonishing and Cheryl couldn't remember the last time she was having such a good time.   
  
Not with Kate, not with Nick, not even her medication made her feel as good as Toni could.  
No drug could send her to cloud nine like that, could even _compare_ to the feeling of her touch on Cheryl's bare skin.   
Cheryl closed her eyes and contentedly tilted her head back as she let her thoughts drift off to the Serpent.   
How they had danced so close together, their bodies fitting the other one's perfectly, the lustful smirks she threw her, the way Toni looked at her when Cheryl would sometimes catch her staring - no one has ever looked at Cheryl like that - her hands hungrily yet delicately exploring her body... She was able to make Cheryl feel things, she didn't know she could.   
It was scary. And new.  
But Cheryl loved it already. 

A cold hand, placing itself on her thigh, quickly pulled her out of her besotted trance and her eyes shot open, trying to perceive what was groping her so ungently, the vague blur becoming clearer as she forced her eyes to stay open and focus on her surroundings.

Only now did she fully notice Nick's predatory hands still exploring her body and she involuntarily convulsed under his touch.  
He was holding her tight and way too close as he sneered at her with dark eyes.  
The nice feeling of comfort and warmth Toni had caused was quickly replaced with panic and a sudden surge of unbearable heat, setting Cheryl's body on fire at the unwanted proximity and she swiftly disentangled herself out of his tight grip. 

"What's wrong?" he barked, staring at her with greedy eyes.   
"Nothing. All good. Just need some fresh air." 

She turned around, not awaiting his response, and headed for the door that lead to the garden.  
Her blood was boiling in her veins, mercilessly pumping the heat through her body which was now covered in goose bumps, leaving her sweating and shivering at the same time. 

 _It's the side effects,_ she reminded herself.   
_No need to make such a fuss._

She remembered how Toni had breathed with her when she had her nightmare and took a deep breath, telling herself to calm down and not take it out on Nick and oddly enough, it worked.  
The effects this girl had on her....  
She was back to being calm and collected again when she reached for the handle and stepped outside on the terrace.

The cold night air hit her with all its sobering brutality and Cheryl in- and exhaled the fresh air with a satisfied sigh.  
_Much better._  
After she had composed herself and felt her mind clear up and her blurry eyes adjust to the darkness, she glanced around the spacious patio. 

Even though, the house was well filled with easily more than 100 guests, no on bothered to go outside, leaving Cheryl alone on the seemingly empty terrace. Thankful for the moment of privacy, Cheryl sighed deeply and wandered around, letting her hand brush over the potted plants as she walked along the long handrail, leading further afar from the house, the music inside dying down to a muffled background noise, the more she walked.

She came to a halt, when she spotted a small frame, standing a few meters away at the edge of the patio, a cigarette in her hand and back turned to Cheryl, dimly lit by by the light shining through the windows.  
  
Despite the scarce light Cheryl knew in an instant who was standing there, the pink she pretended to hate but secretly had a thing for, giving it away.

"Tee-Tee,” she exclaimed happily when she realized Toni was standing in front of her, and walked up to her.  
The addressed girl slowly turned around to face her with an annoyed expression, blowing blue smoke out of her mouth.

"I didn't know you smoke," Cheryl stated with a disapproving glance to the cigarette in Toni's hand.

"I don't." 

"Then why do you?"

"Felt like it," she shrugged, her tone brusque and bored as she took another drag of her cigarette.  
After she exhaled, she crossed her arms and eyed Cheryl again.

"I didn't know you have a fling with Nick St. snob," she retorted, the accusation evident in her voice.

"I don't!" Cheryl cried out in defence, now slightly confused.  
She and Nick? If anything, that was just to deflect the masses. Surely, Toni couldn’t be mad about that, could she?

"Didn't seem like that in there."  
Even in her inebriated condition, Cheryl could see that something bothered Toni. 

"What do you care anyway?" she demanded.  
What was that all about now?   
Was she jealous? Or just condemning her like everybody else constantly did?

"I _don't!_ " Toni shot back without missing a beat.

 _Ouch.  
_That was not the answer Cheryl was hoping for.  
She didn't know what she had hoped for but it wasn't  _this._  
Toni's words pierced through her heart like a spear. 

 _She didn't care._  
Her voice brutally echoed in her head.  
Of course, she didn't. Why would she anyway? Cheryl was and always has been an intolerable mess, dragging everybody down with her and now Toni was probably growing tired of her. Just like everybody else.

"Splendid!" she managed to spit out, hoping the other girl couldn't make out the hurt in her voice and mirrored Toni's posture, crossing her arms over her chest.   
She glared at the girl in front of her, looking equally enraged, her chest lifting and lowering as she panted with rage.   
It hurt Cheryl to fight with her, to see her so riled up.  
That was not the Toni she wanted to spend time with.

But if she decided to be a killjoy, then fine, but it had to be without Cheryl.  
So before Toni could see the tears that threatened to escape her eyes, she turned on her heel and wordlessly left her standing.  
The last thing she needed now, was yet another person telling her how to live her life or judge her choices. Especially if that person didn't care about her anyway.   
_Stupid Serpent._  
She stormed inside again, eager to have some  _fun_ now, set up her habitual fake smirk and aimed for Nick standing in the foyer. 

“Get the good stuff, Nicky,” she grabbed his collar and pushed him against the wall, promptly pressing her lips on his, “Time to have some fun.”

 

* * *

 

 

It was already 2am, Toni being forced to watch Cheryl and Nick vigorously make out and dance for the last hour from where she was standing with Fangs, Jug and Sweets, when she observed with worry how her movements became more and more sluggish by the minute, her walking turning into teetering and her head to heavy for her to hold upright anymore.  
If Nick didn't held her so obnoxiously close, she probably wouldn't be able to stand on her own any more.  
So Toni decided to intervene before things got too far and headed for the pair in the corner.

“Cheryl, we're leaving," she commanded sternly, directed more towards the boy than to Cheryl, and gently grabbed her arm, trying to get her out of Nick's tight grip. 

“Back off, snake," he snapped, still holding close onto Cheryl, "She's having fun.”

“No, she's not," Toni insisted, not letting go of Cheryl's arm who didn't seem to notice both parties fighting over her.  
"And we're leaving. Now.”  
She held Nick’s gaze, daring him to object again, until he finally gave in and pushed the barely conscious girl into Toni’s arms.

“Fine, take her then. She’s too high again anyway.”  
_High?_  
As in high on drugs?  
Whatever he meant by that or what Cheryl had taken tonight, it had to wait until tomorrow, Toni making a mental note to ask the girl about it in the morning.

She carefully put Cheryl's arm around her shoulder and grabbed her by the waist, holding her upwards and thus supporting her weight.  
Unable to hold her head up, Cheryl let it drop and mumbled,  
“Toni?”

“I'm right here.”

“I.. I'm sorry 'bout earlier” she slurred almost inaudibly, “please, no more fighting, Tee-Tee.”

“Me too, Cher. No more fighting.”  
She couldn't help but feel responsible. If she had stayed sober and had had her eyes on Cheryl, this whole fucking mess wouldn't have happened.

“Pinky promise?” Cheryl smiled crookedly at her through barely-open eyes.

“Later,” Toni grunted. She needed both her arms right now to carry Cheryl outside whose legs now almost completely gave up.  
Her head rocked sideways with every step until she buried it in Toni's neck.  
“Mhh, you smell so good.”  
Toni ignored the compliment and walked with her to the parking lot, her friends already waiting for her by Betty's car who had thankfully offered to be the designated driver.

After she had managed to heave Cheryl into the car's backseat and slumped down beside her, the others thankfully not questioning or commenting on anything, the group drove off towards RHBS, Toni using the silent ride to get her thoughts and feelings in order. 

As much as she wanted to be mad at Cheryl, she knew that she had no right to.  
It was her life and if she decided to make out with that snobby St. Clair kid then so be it.  
It was none of Toni's business anyway and she couldn't punish someone for not reciprocating her feelings.  
She had no one to blame for this but herself and jeopardizing what she had with Cheryl just out of frustration about her unrequited crush, was not the right way.   
So for the sake of their fragile friendship, she had to clean up her act and get over her stupid crush. 

The sooner, the better. 

But with Cheryl's head resting so comfortably on Toni's shoulder and her hand searching for hers, it didn't exactly make this any easier for her.

 

* * *

 

 

“You can't go to bed like this,” Toni stated flatly after they arrived in their dorm (somehow) and Cheryl had plumped face-down on her bed, still in her clothes but not responding.

Toni went to the bathroom to get some makeup remover tissues and sat down next to Cheryl, carefully putting her face in her hands and turning it towards her so that she could wipe off her makeup.  
The redhead smiled into the touch of her hand on her cheek and slowly blinked her eyes open, murmuring something Toni didn’t understand.  
“Hold still and close your eyes,” Toni whispered, biting her lip in concentration.  
  
After she was done, she discarded the cloth and eyed Cheryl uneasily.  
She didn't like what was about to come now.

"You need to change into your PJ’s, Cher. Can you do that?”  
“No,” Cheryl drawled and smiled lazily at Toni.  
“Help me undress.”

Toni rolled her eyes but complied nevertheless, pushing herself off the bed to take her shoes off (how she managed to walk in heels was a mystery to her anyway) and carefully placed them aside.  
She hated how her eyes flicked to Cheryl’s pale, long legs and she promptly averted her eyes, straightened and walked to the foot of the bed to sit down, still avoiding the redhead's gaze.

Meanwhile Cheryl had managed to sit upright and threw Toni an enticing smirk over her shoulder.  
“My dress, Tee-Tee,” she whispered and Toni knew she shouldn’t find that so appealing (especially given Cheryl’s condition) but she just couldn’t help it.

So, with a sigh she crawled over the bed, took the zipper of the red dress in her fingers and slowly unzipped it for her, not missing the opportunity to slightly graze Cheryl’s now bare back with the back of her fingers.  
Cheryl’s breathing became noticeably heavier and she tilted her head back, humming in pleasure.

 _Get it together, Toni,_ she berated herself.  
_Do not let her play with you._

So before she would do something ill-advised, she cleared her throat and hastily stood up, walking over to the closet and threw Cheryl’s silk pajama on her bed and disappeared into the bathroom.  
“You’ll manage the rest without me.”

Not sure what to do out of this situation and quite frankly, oddly aroused, she walked over to the sink and splashed her face with water, hoping it would somehow wash Cheryl off her mind.  
But whatever twisted game it was that Cheryl was playing with her, it had to wait for another time. The number one priority now was to make sure the other girl was okay and in a stable condition. God knows what kind of drugs she was on. 

When she felt considerably more calm and collected, she exited the bathroom, Cheryl changed into her nightwear by now (thank god, Toni didn’t know if she would have wanted to do that for her) and laid on her bed, albeit not sleeping yet, her tired eyes darting to Toni.

The way she lay on her bed, drained and feeble after the rough night, she looked so... _broken_  and Toni couldn’t understand what could possibly drive her to this self-destructive behaviour with these obnoxious, disgustingly toxic people around her.

"Cher," she slowly began as she sat down on Cheryl's bed and took her cold hand in hers, the girl promptly intertwining their fingers, leaving Toni wondering when it became such a normal thing for them to do.  
"Why are you doing this to yourself?"

Cheryl bestirred sluggishly and slowly lifted her head, vacant, dilated pupils staring numbly through Toni in the dark. 

“Jason,” she croaked out almost inaudibly before collapsing on the pillow again and Toni's heart broke in two.

She gently pushed some red strands out of her delicate, bare face and tenderly caressed her arm, hoping it would convey the unvoiced message, that Toni was here for her.

Cheryl smiled wearily and stretched her hand out as well to let it lazily rest in the crook of Toni's neck, gently stroking her cheek.  
Toni bit down a content sigh, refused to relax into the touch and gently put Cheryl's hand and laid it beside her but the redhead didn't object.

“C'mere cuddle,” she mumbled slowly, her voice muffled by the pillow.

“Cheryl, no," Toni softly refused.   
They couldn’t keep doing this. She had to put an end to this before it could hurt her any more.  
  
"Please, Tee-Tee," she whispered but Toni stayed strong, resisted the urge to crawl under Cheryl's blankets and snuggle up with her and went to her own bed without another word and turned off the light.

"Night, Cheryl."

From now on, she needed to keep Cheryl at a safe distance.

 

 

 

 


	16. Back And Forth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oblivious Cheryl barely remembers anything from last night but finds herself craving Toni's affection even more.  
> Toni's attempts at keeping Cheryl at a safe distance and get over her remain just that; a poor attempt. 
> 
> OR 
> 
> Cheryl sees something she doesn't like and gets possessive and even more intrusive.  
> Bad things are about to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello my loves,  
> I'm so sorry this chapter took me so freaking long to finish, I'm drowning in work over here.  
> But fear not, I will continue writing, come what may.  
> (Also I'm having the next days off, meaning you'll find me writing 24/7 from now on).  
> I hope I'm finished with the next chapter on Saturday or Sunday. 
> 
> !!! TW: mild substance abuse (what a surprise) and also vague foreshadowing of attempted sexual abuse !!

 

 

As quiet as her still wobbly feet and her spinning mind allowed, Cheryl slipped into the their dorm again, carefully shutting the door behind her with two cups of steamy hot coffee in her hands.  
It must be half past seven, the early sun rays already shining through the blinds, announcing the fresh start of a new day.

She had woken up about an hour prior with a dust-dry mouth and a thunderclap headache, but for a nice change found herself tucked in her bed, dressed in her pajamas and her makeup diligently taken off and she didn't need three guesses to figure out who she had to thank for that.

On her previous nights out she she would always walk – or rather stumble – home alone, only to be greeted by the cold halls of RHBS and an empty dorm room, nobody bothering to ask if she got home safely, no one waiting for her at home, yet alone taking care of her so tenderly like Toni obviously had yesterday.

But as touched as she was by that, she fought the urge to jump on Toni's bed and wake her with cuddles and instead was even more quick to gather her clothes and slip out of the door, feeling like the morning-after-walk-of-shame, the other girl still being dead asleep, looking fairly exhausted herself and didn't notice Cheryl's matutinal departure. Thank God.

Before she could face Toni, she needed some alone time to recap last night and sort out what had happened and what she had imagined - or rather _wish -_ what happened.

She walked through the chilly October morning air to her car, started the engine and aimlessly drove around Riverdale, her mind spinning as the images of a lightly clad Toni started to pop up in her head, making it extremely hard to focus on the road ahead of her.

The more she let her thoughts drift off to last night, the harder it became to distinguish what was real and what was wishful thinking.

There was Toni dancing dangerously close to her, Toni wrapping her arms around her, Toni biting her lip as she looked at her with those dreamy eyes that Cheryl grew to love, Toni's hand on her thigh, Toni everywhere.

Had she really been flirting with her or did her drug fueled mind play her a cruel trick?

It wasn't until she found herself under Pop's bright neon sign, the dazzling, fluorescent light pulling her back to reality, that she pulled herself together, got out of the car and headed for the diner's door.  
She barely remembered what had happened yesterday but she _did_ know that she owed the girl a coffee.

  
  


 

* * *

  
  


 

She slowly took off her shoes, tiptoed over to where the brunette was peacefully sleeping in her bed and kneeled down to take a closer look at her.

Even though they were still stubborn remnants of makeup on her face, the last bits of mascara now merely dark circles under her eyes, her hair tied up in a messy, ruffled pony tail, she still looked pretty.  
Gorgeous even and Cheryl tried to savour the view a little longer before waking her up.  
She fought the urge to push an apostate pink strand hanging loosely in her face aside as a content sigh escaped her lips, Toni's eyes promptly shooting open at the sound.

"Who's.. -" she immediately stiffened and drew back a few inches.

On instinct, Cheryl placed a hand on her arm and shushed,  
"Shh, calm down, it's me."

"Cheryl, what the fuck?" Toni groaned when she saw the redhead and let her head fall back onto the pillow again.  
"Don't you know better than to sneak up on a Serpent at like what... six in the morning?"

"First of all, it's already past seven. And second, I didn't sneak, I brought you coffee."

Toni's half-open eyes flicked to the coffee she was offered and accepted it with a yawn as she sluggishly sat up.

"Not that I'm complaining about the much needed caffeine, but how come?"

"Consider it a thank you for... uhm yesterday... you taking care of me," Cheryl took a sip to hide her slight nervousness, mentally bracing herself for the inevitable subject she would love to elude somehow, but knew she couldn't.

She had expected another warm smile, a gentle hand squeeze and reassurance about how it goes without saying that Toni would be there for here or something, but instead the answer came out curt and brief.  
"Yeah, no problem."

Cheryl paused briefly at Toni's standoffish reply, but brushed it off before her mind had the chance to overthink again and cleared her throat,

"Speaking of yesterday... I was hoping you could help me fill in some gaps. My mind tends to go blank when I.. uh.. have a little too much to drink," she chuckled nervously, feeling the need to explain herself and apologize, albeit not quite knowing for what.

"You don't remember last night?" Cheryl didn't miss the subtle hesitation in Toni's voice.

"Well, admittedly, there are _a few_ pieces missing," she conceded sheepishly, "I remember us drinking and dancing but don't know anything that happened afterwards."  
She deliberately didn't mention Toni flirting with her for fear of it not being true and being disillusioned by her with the harsh truth that she had indeed imagined it.

The brunette lowered her cup and scoffed humourlessly, "You don't remember anything after that? Nothing at all?"

Her tone was harsh and mocking, leaving Cheryl feeling like a child that misbehaved and would now be scolded as she sheepishly answered Toni's question with a curt head-shaking. She wondered what she had done for Toni to be so gruff towards her but refrained from asking. Knowing how unbearable she could get at times, she had probably behaved like a complete jackass again.

"Well, after we danced and uhm.. _hung out,_ you ditched me to hang with your preppy friends and then got so high that you could barely stand up straight up anymore until I had to basically rip you out off Nick's or whatever-his-name-is arms," Toni spat with an unreadable expression.

_Fucking shit._

The redhead pressed the bridge of her nose and bit down a groan.  
She had _ditched_ her – why would she even do that in the first place? - and then got high? Meaning Toni now knew about the drugs. No wonder, she was pissed.

Her inner Blossom kicked in, telling her to instantly get defensive when confronted with her own misbehaviour and she opened her mouth to snap back at her, wanting to tell her to mind her own business but couldn't find the words.  
Truth be told, if Toni was telling the truth, then she had every right to be mad at her. But still, apologizing would equal admitting everything she was just accused of and that was the last thing Cheryl wanted to do.

After a moment of heavy silence, the redhead torn between being angry and wanting to apologize, Toni's gaze softened.  
"Listen, Cheryl," she spoke softly.  
"Whatever it is you're going through and I _know_ it is a lot, there are better ways to deal with it than _drugs_."

Even now, when Cheryl had really screwed up, she still was understanding and even cared about her. It almost hurt Cheryl, her initial thought being how she didn't deserve someone as kind as Toni in her life.

She pressed her eyes shut for a second, so touched for the second time today that she almost felt like crying. Almost.

But first of all, she needed to dissuade Toni from her idea that Cheryl had been doing drugs and so she forced a high-pitched laughter, hoping it would distract from her reddening cheeks.  
"What makes you think I'm doing drugs, TT?" she asked with a stilted smile, catching the other girl off guard who stared her with a baffled expression.

"Your friend, the host?" she blinked in confusion.  
"He said you were high," she accused, but it came out more like a question, as if she wasn't sure herself.

"Nicky? Oh please," Cheryl rolled her eyes, "He was completely wasted himself. You can't believe a _single_ word he says when he's drunk."  
She kept talking before the other girl had the chance to contest, the dissent already on the tip of her tongue.  
"Oh, Toni, you don't seriously believe _I_ would be doing _drugs?_ " She emphasized the words as if the very notion was completely absurd.

"Between you and me, I don't exactly have a high tolerance for alcohol, I mean look at me, I'm a lightweight and yesterday I may have had one or two shots too many. You know how it is," she added with a dismissive hand motion.

Toni narrowed her eyes, visibly chewing over Cheryl's explanation until she gave in.  
"Really?"

"TT, seriously," she laid her hand on her knee and gave her the most innocent smile she could muster up. "I think you know me well enough now to know that I wouldn't be doing such thing."

"Cheryl, are you _sure?_ "

"Ye-hees, I promise, Toni, no need to worry."

If Toni still hadn't been convinced, she luckily held back from commenting on it any further and - much to Cheryl's relief – turned her attention to her coffee again and decided to leave it at that.

 _Thank God._ Cheryl congratulated herself on her acting skills and followed suit, contently drinking her own coffee.  
_That was a close one._

  
  


 

* * *

  
  


After both girls have finished their coffee, neither daring to break the comfortable silence, it was unanimously decided that they would stay in for the rest of their Sunday to cure out their respective hangover and watch some movies.  
Cheryl ordered food for them, insisting that Toni needed something proper to eat and that it was her treat which was only reluctantly accepted by the other girl.

And so what was left of the weekend was spent with a Netflix marathon, Toni learning that Cheryl's favourite movie was Grease (obviously), Cheryl learning that Toni was afraid of horror movies and refused to watch them (Toni said it was embarrassing but Cheryl found it adorable).

And even though she had successfully managed to convince Toni that she had not been high yesterday, she couldn't help but pick up an ever so slight tension stemming from Toni.

Whilst they were watching movies, she had found some excuses to touch her – whether it was the popcorn she 'accidentally' dropped on Toni's leg or brushed her arm when reaching for her phone – she had her ways, but Toni barely acknowledged it or rather tried to ignore it, leaving the redhead wondering if the girl was still mad at her.

But whatever, it was probably nothing, Cheryl told herself. She was overanalyzing things again and decided to brush it off as a simple hangover grouch.

Right now she was enjoying the moment, happy to lay on her bed with Toni next to her and her favourite movie playing on her laptop, the dreadful party forgotten and whatever it was that had happened left behind.

At least that's what Cheryl thought.

 

 

* * *

  
  


It was Wednesday. 12am.  
Not even six hours into the day and Cheryl was already fed up.  
_No_ , scratch that, she was fucking _furious_.

The day had already started on a bad note when Toni had yet again declined her offer to go to Pop's later – she had been dodging her invites all week now - and had been particularly dismissive towards her, not paying her the attention Cheryl craved, depriving her of the affection she so desperately longed for.

At first, Cheryl thought she was overreacting, but by now she was sure. Something was up with Toni. Something has shifted between them and it was killing her that she wasn't able to pin down what it was but she was all the more desperate to stop it.

The changes in Toni's demeanour were barely discernible, but they were there. She was still happy, cordial and tender with Cheryl, but wouldn't respond her smiles with the same dreamy-eyed look on her face she did just four days ago, she would only hesitantly reciprocate Cheryl's subtle touches - that may seem trivial but have become indispensable for the redhead - and would find excuses to not hang out with her after class.

The very notion made her writhe with disgust for herself but deep down Cheryl knew that she was so starved out for any kind of devotion that she had greedily drunk in even the slightest affection Toni had offered her the days prior to the party and that she was now so rudely denied of.

Even though she knew it was the wrong approach, she couldn't stop herself from becoming more clingy, more physical, even almost intimate, the more Toni shut her out which seemed to be working, the effect it had on the other girl not lost on Cheryl.  
But whatever the cost, she was hellbent on keeping Toni close and she would find her ways, that was for sure.

So when she had joined her Vixens on a bench during recess and her eyes involuntarily landed on Toni standing 20 meters away with the usual suspects Jughead, Fangs and Sweet Pea, messing around and having fun, Cheryl saw red.  
Toni had ditched her to hang with these losers? Again?

She chewed her bottom lip, contemplating her next move with such aggression that she could already taste the copper taste of her blood but didn't care.  
Should she walk up to her? No, she was already being obtrusive enough, so she decided to stay put and observe the scene further.

Toni now laughed out at something Sweet Pea said and playfully slapped his shoulder.  
Cheryl had figured a while ago that their dealings with one another were a little more brusque than what she was used to but that didn't mean it bothered her any less that Toni let her hand rest on the guy's upper arm. That was more physical contact than she had gotten from Toni all day and it pissed her off.  
Big time.

Midge was the first to pick up on Cheryl's mood swing.  
"Cheryl? You good?"

"Mhh-hm, perfectly fine," the Vixen spat without tearing her gaze off the pairing in front of her, Sweet Pea now leaning closer to her, saying something that made Toni laugh even more.

Suddenly he pulled her closer, bend down a little, grabbed her thighs and _fucking lifted her up._

Cheryl's jaw dropped at the same time Toni let out an amused squeal and joined in on Sweet Pea's laughter as his hands firmly held her up by her thighs ( _far_ too close to her ass for Cheryl's liking) and her feet dangled from either side of his torso.

Cheryl had seen enough. She bit down another snarl and tried to focus on her lunch again, only now realizing she had completely smashed the sandwich in her hands and what remained of it was now nothing more than a mush.

"Cheryl?"  
Midge's voice again.  
Cheryl rolled her eyes at her and swiftly stood up, hastily ridding herself of what was left of her lunch by throwing it in the trash can a little too forceful, earning her confused stares from her squad.

Before she would snap at her Vixens or had to answer their bothersome questions, the redhead wheeled around and marched off towards the bathroom, already fumbling in her bag for her little white box.

She didn't need to see Toni so close to someone else, didn't need to hear her laughter, didn't want to see her smile at someone who wasn't her.

  
  


  
  


* * *

  
  


 

 

The next day, late afternoon after classes, Toni was sitting on her bed, trying to finish the book she had to read for English AP, when Cheryl entered the room, smiled shyly when she saw Toni and joined her on her bed without another word.

Toni was about to object when Cheryl made herself comfortable and rested her head on Toni's lap as she continued scrolling through her Instagram feed, but found that she didn't really want to and instead let it happen.

Ever since the party last Saturday, Toni was trying _her hardest_ not to think about Cheryl anymore and to get over her little 'crush' and maybe she would have been successful if Cheryl didn't make it so _goddamn_ hard for her lately.

Whether it was her subconsciously searching for her hand when they were sitting next to each other in class (which was the cutest fucking thing tbh) or the pecks she gave her on her cheeks when they parted for class, Cheryl was being _a little too physical_ these last few days. _  
_ Not that Toni minded under normal circumstances, but right now she wanted to leave her unrequited feelings behind.

She still didn't know how to handle her situation with the other girl, first her playing so cruelly with Toni's feelings (and continuing to do so), then the whole drug thing that hasn't even been a drug thing or so Cheryl claimed...  
It all really fucking kind of overwhelmed Toni.

She sighed inwardly, berating herself how whipped she was and gave in to Cheryl's approach.  
She opened her book again, trying to pick up where she left whilst lazily playing with the gorgeous ginger locks in her lap, but was unable to concentrate, her eyes keep wandering off to Cheryl's full red lips.

"You're really rocking that lipstick," she heard herself drawl before she could bite her tongue, causing the red lips she adored so much to morph into a cheeky smirk.

"Oh yeah?" Cheryl put her phone aside and sat up, facing Toni with an unreadable expression, that resembled something between lust and playfulness.  
"You like it?"

All previous plans to keep Cheryl at a safe distance were quickly discarded with one look in Cheryl's dark, sensual eyes and Toni decided to go with the sudden mood shift.  
"Very much so."

And just like that, in a matter of seconds, Cheryl had her heart racing and her body shaking again, but Toni kept her cool and held her burning gaze when Cheryl leaned in, inching _dangerously_ close as she shifted her weight on her arm next to Toni's leg.

"Want a swatch?" she breathed out through a smirk, making Toni's knees even weaker.  
Thank God, they were sitting down.

Hoping the other girl didn't catch on the effect she had on her, she raised a brow and chuckled, "What?"

Cheryl's gaze dropped to Toni's hand as she gently took it in her own free hand and slowly put it to her mouth, pressing a soft kiss to the back of her hand, her lips lingering a little longer than necessary before she released it with a smooch and lowered their hands again, proudly regarding the bright red kissing mouth on Toni's hand.

But before Toni had the chance to respond - not that she felt like she could form a coherent sentence anyway - Cheryl giggled, picked up her phone and laid down in Toni's lap again as if nothing had happened.

Yes, Toni absolutely hated the power Cheryl Blossom held over her.

  
  


  
  


* * *

  
  


  
  


"Tee-Teee," Cheryl sing-songed after she closed the door and excitedly danced over to where Toni was laying on her bed, grappling with her literature assignment again after she failed to finish the book yesterday due to a certain copper haired distraction.

"Six words. Moi. Toi. Et une graaande fête," the cheerleader chimed a little too excited.

"You, me.. what?"

"The St. Clairs are having another party tonight, duh," she slumped down next to her.  
"And since the last one.. kind of slipped my memory, I was thinking... we could re-cap it."  
She let her fingers dance up Toni's lower arm with every word, not missing the goose bumps she caused and Toni trying to play it cool by clearing her throat, shifting her eyes to the book in her hands again.

"Think I'll pass, thank you."

She wanted to stay strong this time, after all she was trying to pursue a plan, but Cheryl was not having it.  
She giggled as she stood up and tried pulling Toni with her at her jacket.

"Come oooon," she whined playfully, "get dressed, you're my date tonight."

"If this party is going to be anything like the last-" she shook off her hand and threw Cheryl an accusing glare over her book, "-then I'd rather stay here, thanks."

She had to put an end to this already and show her that she wouldn't jump every time Cheryl wanted her to.

"Come on, Toni, it's gonna be fun," she reached for her hand again, but Toni was just as persistent.

"Cheryl, I said No," she answered with finality.  
She got the feeling that the redhead was having a hard time accepting a No as an answer.

But eventually Cheryl got the message, her simper dying down to a somewhat confused frown.  
"So what, you're staying in today? Alone on a Friday night?"

Toni huffed and shot back,  
"Still better than spending my evening watching inane wannabe-bigwigs getting shitfaced."

She immediately bit her tongue when she realized what she had just said and was met with a slack jawed stare, the umbrage Cherly took at Toni's words evident in her eyes as she turned on her heel and stalked off,  
"Fine, be a drag then!"

"No, wait, Cher, I wasn't referring to you."

But the redhead was already on her way out, slamming the door shut with a loud bang and was gone as quickly as she had come.

With a groan Toni slumped down on her bed again and threw her hands up in despair.  
So much for school work and a stress-free evening.

For a moment she considered calling Fangs to ask what he was up to tonight but figured he had already plans with Kevin which she really didn't to want to interfere in and instead listlessly picked up her book again, hoping it would keep her busy, but couldn't really follow the story, her mind constantly drifting off to her roommate.

  
  


* * *

  
  


About one hour, a negligible amount of pages and endless mind spinning later, her phone started to vibrate next to her, causing Toni to flinch but she immediately picked it up when she saw the name on the screen.

"Cheryl?"

"Toni?" came Cheryl's muffled voice, barely understandable.  
"Can you come here?" she slowly slurred the words through the phone's speaker, sounding anxious and almost strained as if it caused her great pain to form a coherent sentence.

Toni immediately picked up on the panic that resonated from Cheryl's voice, their little bickering quickly forgotten as she jumped to her feet. 

"Okay, I'm coming. What's wrong?"

"I think... something's not right with me, I have..." Cheryl pressed out, her voice trailing off before she could finish. 

Toni could feel the adrenaline aggressively pumping through her veins at the sound of Cheryl whimpering, a million different scenarios racing through her heads, each one worse than the other, as she reached for her jacket and bolted out the door.

"Just stay put, Cher, I'm on my way." 

"Mhh.. please.. hurry."

  
  


 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nick's an asshole, we can all agree on that.


	17. Saving grace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cheryl is in danger.  
> Toni gets carried away with wrath and worry. 
> 
> OR 
> 
> Something tragic brings the two girls closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, guys.  
> New chapter, new happenings.  
> And just so you know, I delayed a date I had in order to finish writing, that's how dedicated I am ;))  
> ALSO: TRIGGER WARNING:  
> Sexual assault, drug abuse and graphic violence.

Without wasting another precious second, Toni bolted out the door, her heart already pounding at a million miles an hour as she pulled out her phone midrunning and dialed Fangs' number.

"Whatup, Tiny?"

"Fangs, I need your help," she pressed out between pantings. "How fast can you be at the house from last week's party?"

"Uhh, I'm at Pop's, so in like 10 minutes."

"Great, meet me there ASAP."

She hung up and sprinted over the parking lot where her bike was parked, kick-started it and sped off.  
She didn't care that she was pushing her bike's throttle to its limit, didn't care that she was breaking every speed limit and overran two red lights, the only thing she could thinkabout was Cheryl and how helpless and broken she sounded and that thought alone made her go even faster.

After what felt like forever but was probably no more than a few minutes, she came to halt with screeching tyres in front of the mansion, Fangs already waiting for her.

She jumped off her bike, gestured the boy to follow her and explained him briefly what happened as they raced towards the entrance.

They pushed the door open and stepped inside, Toni wasting no time as she rushed through the foyer and the kitchen, her eyes frantically searching the crowd for red hair but to no avail.

Even though this party was considerably smaller than the last one, the roughly fifty people present making it pretty overseeable, there was no sign of Cheryl.

Her panic increased with every minute passing, Toni becoming more and more frustrated when a somewhat familiar face uncoupled from the crowd and came to the fore.

"Excuse me, are you aware that this is a _private_ party?" the blonde girl, Toni vaguely remembered as Kate, planted herself in front of them.

"We're looking for Cheryl," Toni barked, hoping it would conceal her increasing nervousness.  
"Where is she?"

"Probably spending her time with Nick which obviously is the better option. So how about you get off our property before I call the cops on you?"

"How about," She stepped closer, coming face to face with her. Kate was easily ten centimetres taller than her, but Toni was far from intimidated by that, "-you get the fuck out of my face before I plant my fist in yours?"

Kate didn't retreat, but Toni could clearly see her gulp as she continued staring her down.

"We're just looking for Cheryl," Fangs swiftly chimed in, shoving Toni aside before she would do something ill-advised which probably was a good idea.  
"We just want to talk to her real quick, then we're out of here."

Kate critically eyed him for a moment but then gave in and sighed, "I haven't seen her since she arrived. When you do find her, take her with you and tell her not to show her face here anymore."  
She pivoted without another word and walked back to the other guests.

"Fangs," Toni turned towards the boy again, "you'll keep looking for her downstairs. I'll go search the room upstairs. And we are not done here until we find her, got it?"

Without awaiting his reply Toni whirled around and rushed the grand staircase upstairs, a nasty feeling starting to spread in her stomach. If Cheryl wasn't downstairs, then she had to be upstairs somewhere. Most likely with Nick.

One by one, Toni worked her way through the seemingly endless amount of doors on either side of the long hallway, her frustration growing with every locked or empty room, when suddenly she perked up her ears.

There was muffled music coming faintly from one room at the end of the corridor.

She dashed down the hallway, broke the door open and stormed into something that looked like a guest room, but the chromatic ceiling light that bathed the room in a red, dim light made it look more like a tacky motel room.

Her eyes flicked to a dresser with a small round mirror on it, a credit card and three thin white lines diligently laid out on it, but she didn't really take note of the cocaine, her attention immediately on the scene in front of her.

The scarce, red light made it hard to see, but there was Nick standing in front of the bed, his back turned to Toni, his suit jacket discarded on the ground.

"Hey, what the hell?" he whirled around to face the intruder, allowing Toni a better view of the bed.

There was Cheryl, laying motionlessly on the bed, looking anything but conscious. Her face was hidden under strands of hair, her arm stretched out beneath her and her hand hanging loosely off the bed's edge.

The sight alone made Toni's stomach drop, sickening her with worry.

"Get out," Nick hissed, Toni only now seeing that his shirt was already halfway buttoned-up and the pants of his zipper down.

Suddenly it clicked and she saw red.

_This. Fucking. Asshole._

This fuckhead wanted to take advantage of Cheryl? Tried to _rape_ her?

Every hint of panic and anxiety vanished, replaced by pure hatred and rage, making Toni shiver in disgust.

Before she could stop herself, she raced towards him, now in full rage mode, grabbed the boy by his collar, eliciting an overwhelmed yelp from him, struck out her fist and slammed it as hard as she could in his face.

He cried out in pain and tumbled over, but Toni was far from finished.

She jumped on him, now laying on the ground and holding his nose, whimpering in pain like the miserable, pathetic coward he was.  
"You broke my-," he cried out but was quickly silenced by another hefty punch, now aimed for his obnoxious mouth, Toni hoping it would knock some of his teeth out.

Another cry, followed by another punch. And another. And another.

Unable to contain her fury and blinded by rage, she kept hitting him over and over again until his body went limp under hers and he passed out, but she still couldn't stop herself.

She ignored the increasing pain in her knuckles, ignored the blood that was dripping from it, not caring if it was his or hers.

He wanted to hurt Cheryl. And now Toni would hurt him just as much.

She struck out, going for another punch when suddenly a strong grip held her arm in place and pulled her off him.

"Stop! Toni, stop."

The familiar voice pulled her out of her blood frenzy and she tore her gaze off Nick's battered face and turned to Fangs.

"He's got enough, okay?"

She stood up with trembling hands, now panting with exertion as her gaze flicked towards the bed and it suddenly hit her again.  
_Cheryl._

She broke away from Fangs' grip and raced over to where the unconscious girl lay and sat down beside her on the bed.

"Cheryl?"  
She gently brushed the hair out of her face and put her cold face in her blood-smeared hands.  
"Cheryl, can you hear me?"

No reaction.

She turned her to lay on her back, quickly scanning her body for any bruises or _signs_ of anything but luckily couldn't find any, even though that failed to calm her down.  
Cheryl was still unresponsive and motionless.

"Cheryl, I'm sorry. I should have come with you. I'm so sorry," she pleaded, begging for a response, and becoming more and more desperate when she didn't get one.  
"Please wake up, Cher."

Still no reaction. She remained limp in her arms.

No. _  
No, no, no._  
This was not happening.  
This _could_ not be happening.

Suppressing the panic that rose up in her chest, Toni blinked away the tears in her eyes and took a deep breath, reminding herself to stay calm and placed her hand under Cheryl's head, carefully lifting it up and put her ear closer to Cheryl's mouth to check her breathing.

Finally, she felt feeble but hot breaths on her cheeks and let out a relieved breath she didn't know she was holding.

_Oh, thank God._

"Cheryl?" she tried again.  
"Wake up, Cher."

Suddenly Cheryl stirred slightly in her embrace.

"T-Toni?" she croaked out, barely above a whisper but Toni felt like she could cry tears of joy by the sound of it.

"Yes. I'm here, baby. I'm right here."

"Toni," Cheryl breathed out again, sounding equally relieved as a weak smile formed on her lips.

Toni continued caressing her cheek as she softly drawled, "I'm here. Right here."

Fangs cleared his throat, reminding the two girls, or rather Toni, of his presence.

"Hate to ruin your moment, but Barbie downstairs already threatened to call the cops on us and she most likely will when she sees what you did to Bill Cosby over here," he ungently nudged Nick, still passed out on the floor, with his foot, "and we both know we're not exactly much-loved by the cops. So you better get going. Preferably now."

Toni thought for a minute and faced the girl again.  
He was right, they had to get out of here. The sooner the better.  
"Cheryl, can you walk?"

Cheryl murmured something Toni couldn't understand and weakly shook her head.

"Okay, I got you."  
The Serpent carefully slid her arms under the redhead's body and lifted her off the bed, bridal style.

"You go ahead. I'll take care of him and then take a French leave," Fangs glanced at Nick who started to silently groan in pain as he slowly regained consciousness.

"Thank you, Fangs."

"Take good care of your girl, Toni," he added with a wink before turning away, kneeling down to face Nick.

Toni just rolled her eyes but failed to contain a shy smile that Fangs luckily didn't see as she made her way out the door with Cheryl nestled up in her arms.

When Toni walked down the hall and the stairs with her, Cheryl whimpered slightly and held onto Toni even tighter as she buried her head in the crook of Toni's neck, the sad resemblance to last week's scenario not lost on the brunette.

If the circumstances that led to this hadn't been so horrible, Toni would have paused for a minute to enjoy the moment with Cheryl fitting so perfectly into her arms, snuggling into her embrace like she was the only person that mattered right now.  
The whole scene reminded her of one of these super cheesy love stories. In a tragic, bittersweet kind of way.

But this was not a rom-com. This was the abhorrent result of some spoilt scumbag drugging and trying to rape an innocent girl.  
Thank God Toni got here in time. She didn't want to picture what would have happened, had she been five minutes late.

She fought back her rage and mentally promised herself (and Cheryl) to make Nick pay for what he did.  
The next time she would see this guy's disgusting face again, she would make sure to not stop at his face but rather break every single one of his bones.  
But this had to wait for another time, the number one priority being that Cheryl was safe.

Luckily, whatever drug it was Nick had used on her, started to abate, Cheryl slowly coming out of her drug-induced coma as Toni walked down the driveway to the parked motorcycles and cautiously set her down.

"Wha-.. what happened?" she croaked out as she blinked her eyes open in confusion.

Toni wiped the dried blood off her hands and kneeled down, forcing what she hoped would be a reassuring smile.  
"Nothing. It's all good."

Cheryl continued staring at her blankly with a hazy expression and mhh-ed absentmindedly as if she couldn't fully comprehend yet what was happening.  
Toni figured she needed a few minutes to fully regain consciousness but kept tensely glancing back at the mansion.  
Fangs would probably knock Nick out again or stall Kate a little further, but it was only a matter of time until he would either wake up or she would find him and then things would get ugly.  
So, if Toni didn't want to get arrested for assault, they were _slightly_ pressed for time.  
After one last glance at the manor, she turned to Cheryl again, eyeing her pensively.

"Cheryl, we have to get out of here."

  


 

* * *

  


By some miracle and of course due to Toni's extra careful and slow driving, both girls have somehow made it back to RHBS safe and sound.  
Thankfully, Cheryl has been conscious enough to stay seated on the back of Toni's motorcycle without falling off (Toni still gave her her jacket and helmet, just in case) and the twenty minute drive through the chilly night air had sobered her up enough that by the time they arrived at school, she was steady enough to walk back to their dorm on her own.

  
  


"What happened, Toni?" Cheryl demanded again when she sat down on her bed, sounding more stable than just twenty minutes ago but still weary and somewhat addled.

Toni followed suit and sat down next to her, taking her hand into her own.  
"Nothing. Let's get some rest and talk about everything tomorrow."

"Toni." Cheryl shakily breathed in and slowly turned to face her, a worn out, sad expression plastered on her face.  
"Just tell me what happened. Please."

Toni bit her lip in contemplation. She really didn't want to upset the girl any further but figured it was no use. "What do you remember?"

"Nothing much. I arrived, Nick brought me a drink as always, and then.." she paused, visibly gathering her thoughts, "...we went upstairs, I think... and then I... started to feel strange and... called you.. when..."  
She trailed off, her eyes starting to glister with tears as the memories hit her.  
"Oh my god..." she whispered in shock upon the realisation.

"Cheryl, it's okay. I got there in time before he..." Toni unclenched her fist, remembering to stay calm for Cheryl's sake, "-before he had the chance to... do something."

"Oh god." Cheryl cried, now letting the tears stream freely down her face.

"I'm so sorry. I should have come with you," Toni wrapped her arm around her and pulled her closer in her embrace. Cheryl sobbed into Toni's shoulder as the Serpent softly stroked the back of her head, gently running her hand through red locks in an attempt to calm her down.

"I will break every single one of that fucker's bone," she stated with determination, fighting back her own tears of rage, "and I will never ever let anything like that happen to you again. I promise."

Cheryl only cried harder at that, clutching at Toni's shirt like a lifeline as she soaked it with tears.  
Toni's heart broke at the sight and she had to swallow back her wrath again, a million different ways to make Nick pay already popping up in her head, but that had to wait for another time. Cheryl needed her right now, so she continued her caresses, pressed soft kisses on her head and whispered sweet nothings.

"It's okay, Cher," she shushed, "You're safe now. I got you."

"You got me," Cheryl repeated quietly between sobs, more to herself than to Toni. "You got me."

"Yeah, I got you."

Slowly, Cheryl's ragged breathing returned to normal and her sobs died down to an occasional sniffing.

"You got me," she stated again, this time with more certainty in her voice.

She straightened up until she was on eye level with Toni, slowly leaned forward to let her forehead rest against hers and gazed into her eyes, "You saved me."

With Cheryl now so dangerously close to her, Toni's skin burning under her touch and her dark, sultry eyes staring right back at her, Toni suddenly found it really hard to concentrate on what she was saying, let alone from a response of her own.  
For a lack of words, she just lifted her hand, gently placed it on Cheryl's cheek, the other girl not once breaking eye contact, and gently wiped away the last hot tears from under her eyes.  
The redhead relaxed into the touch as Toni searched her face for any sign of discomfort about their closeness but there was nothing but gratefulness and adoration in her eyes.

"Thank you, Toni." Cheryl whispered, her burning gaze locked on Toni's.  
"Thank you for showing up, for saving me and... for caring."

"Any time, Cher," Toni lowered her voice as well, afraid that if she spoke too loud the moment might slip through her fingers.

They remained seated like that for a moment, foreheads pressed against each other, their lips mere centimetres apart as both girls silently enjoyed the moment.

"Thank you," Cheryl breathed out again, now letting her dark eyes flick to Toni's lips.

Toni gulped, narrowing her eyes to the weak smile on Cheryl's lips and felt a breath get stuck in her throat when suddenly Cheryl slowly but steadily leaned in.

She felt her eyes widen involuntarily at the same time the other girl slowly closed hers.  
Suddenly Toni was overwhelmed, clueless about her next move and mentally hyperventilating.   
Was this really happening right now? What should she do?  
As much as she wanted this, this could not happen right now. Not like that and not with Cheryl's unstable condition. She was still intoxicated and in shock, probably not even aware of what she was doing and knowing no other way to express her gratitude.

But with these beautiful lips coming so painfully slowly for hers, it was really fucking hard to stay strong.

Every fiber in her body screamed to give in, pushing her to lean in and capture these gorgeous red lips that she has been dreaming about for so long into her own, pour all her affection into a sensual kiss and show Cheryl that she was worthy of love and that Toni was more than happy to give it to her.

It took every ounce of strength and will power she had in her, but somehow she managed to pull away before she could cave in and let Cheryl do something she would regret later on, and awkwardly cleared her throat, "Uhm, It's late. We should probably go to sleep."

Cheryl blinked her eyes open, the disappointment in her eyes unmistakable.  
She quickly recomposed herself and averted her face, staring straight ahead.

"Yeah, uhm, you're right," she nervously ran her hand through her hair. "It's been a lot today and I'm still really confused, to be honest."

Toni bit her lip, berating herself for destroying their moment like that, Cheryl now probably thinking that Toni rejected her when this was the last thing she wanted.

Toni _did_ want to kiss her _so bad_ , wanted to tell her how much she adores her, to _show_ her that she is everything she could think about.

But not now and not like that.

It just wouldn't be right.

So, she tested the waters by carefully placing her hand on her thigh again.  
"Cher?"

"Mhh-mh." Cheryl kept staring straight ahead, her cheeks pink with embarrassment, still avoiding the other girl's eye, so Toni moved her hand from Cheryl's thigh to her cheek and gently turned her head, forcing the redhead to look at her, hoping she could non-verbally understand Toni's decision and instead somehow see the genuine adoration and pure desire Toni held for her and _only_ her.  
  
"I'm here for you. No matter where, no matter when, okay?"

Apparently the message was successfully conveyed, Cheryl smiling shyly again into Toni's touch and nodded slowly.  
"Thank you, TT."

"No problem," she gently took Cheryl's hand in her own, put it up to her lips and pressed a chaste kiss on her knuckles.  
"Now let's get ready for bed."

  


* * *

  


 

"Toni?" Cheryl hesitantly asked after they had both changed into their pajamas and brushed their teeth.

"Mhh?"  
Toni lifted her head to meet Cheryl's gaze, the redhead already in her bed.

"Can you maybe sleep.. here tonight?"

Toni sighed contently as she took in the adorable sight of Cheryl snuggled up in her enormous blanket, looking expectantly at her with those puppy eyes that had Toni melting away in an instant.

This time she didn't refuse the redhead's request and tried to contain her grin as she slipped under her covers, her reddening cheeks matching Cheryl's as she cozied up to her.

Cheryl turned to lay on her side, facing Toni, who followed suit, with a shy smile.  
"Good night, TT."

"Good night, Cher. Sleep well."

"I will now," she whispered with a dreamy smile and closed her eyes as she drifted off to sleep.  
  


  


  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing protective Toni and soft Cheryl, lol.  
> Also, shit's about to go down.


	18. Shambles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A certain redhead's coping mechanisms are becoming even more self-destructive than usual.  
> Maybe a certain brunette can help break the cycle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my loves!!!  
> I'm terribly sorry I've been gone for so long. I had my final exams and because my lazy ass spent the whole semester writing fanfiction, I had to shit ton of catching up and studying to do.  
> Plus, I'm in the process of moving and have been working all summer etc. the usual drama, you get it.  
> I know I've said that before but updates will come more frequently now. And this time I mean it. For real.  
> Anyway, you guys are the best, your super-sweet comments never fail to brighten my day and I'm so happy I found the time to write again.  
> So, enough said, here it is!!!
> 
> P.S: I feel like I've unlearned the English language after two months of not writing lol. Anyway, there are some sentences I wasn't sure about or just didn't seem right, so please, please let me know if there are any grammatical mistakes (probably a lot) or wrong commas, vocabulary etc. Every criticism is appreciated

_"Drink it up, hun. It's your favourite."_

_"Nick, I told you, I don't feel like drinking today."_

_"It'll make you feel better. Trust me."_

_And she did._  
  
  


_-_

  
  


_"Nick, I need.. I don't feel so good."_

_"Let's get you upstairs then, so you can lay down."_

_"N-.. No, I think I want to go."_

_But he had already put her arm around his shoulder and took her upstairs, ignoring her weak protests._

_What was happening?_  
  
  


_-_

  
  


_"Lay down, get some rest. I'll take care of you."_

_She felt her wobbly legs fail her completely as she collapsed onto the mattress._

_Why couldn't she move?_

  
  


_-_

  
  


_It had taken all her strength and effort to pull her phone out and dial the number she had memorised as soon as Nick had left the room._

_Something wasn't right._

_She managed to end the call and hide her phone again just seconds before Nick came back again._

  
  


_-_

  
  


_Her eyelids became heavier by the minute, the drowsiness that crept through her body threatened to take over, paralyzing her as she tried her hardest to fight the mist that fogged her mind._

_If only she could move.  
Why wouldn't her legs move? _

_Nick's expression, by now barely more than a blur in her hazy vision morphed into a devilish grin as he fixated her with hungry eyes._

_He looked at her like a predator, ready to jump its prey._

_Cheryl tried to swallow down the uprising panic that started to spread in her stomach, tried to scream, to call for help but her tongue was heavy in her mouth, unable to form anything other than slurred mumbles._

_"Don't fight it."  
His muffled words echoed through her head, sending her body instantly into panic mode as the realisation of his intentions hit her._

_He drugged her. He was trying to rape her._

_She become more and more desperate, panicked inwardly as she frantically tried to stay awake._

_But as much as she exerted herself mentally, she could feel her body lose the battle against the drugs and slowly black out._

**_No, no, no._ **

_Her eyes fell shut, her arms stopped struggling and her body went limp._

_Even though she had lost consciousness, she was still hyperaware of his looming presence, as if she slipped into a vigil coma and she could feel the mattress give in under his weight as he crawled towards her._

_She lay on the bed. Numb, helpless and paralyzed.  
There was nothing she could do. _

_When his hand came into contact with her skin, she convulsed inwardly and felt hot tears of disgust and despair rolled down her cheeks as he slowly moved his hands further up her body._

_'Nick.'_

_She tried calling out his name, but her lips refused to obey._

_'Nick.' Again. To no avail._

_He wouldn't do this to her. He couldn't._  
He was her friend, goddammit.  
She trusted him, she had known him for years. That had to mean something, right?

_Right?_

_His hands continued roaming her body, Cheryl's skin burning painfully under his touch like his fingertips were covered in acid._

_"Don't worry," he hissed, the lust dropping from his voice enough to Cheryl's stomach turn. "I'll be gentle."_

_She choked down a sob as she braced herself for what was about to come, when his fingers reached her waistbands._

_'No.'_

_'No, please don't.'_

  
  


Suddenly Cheryl jumped awake, gasping for air as she shot up in her bed.

On instinct, she promptly curled up, covering her body with her arms, protecting herself from the sexual predator she had recently called her friend as her eyes frantically scanned the dark room.

_It was just a dream._

Only when her eyes landed on Toni, sleeping peacefully next to her, reality sunk in and she knew she was safe. For now, at least.

 _Nothing happened,_ she told herself. _Toni saved me._

Pushing the haunting images to the back of her mind, she tried focusing on the girl next to her and allowing herself to relax. But naturally, her stomach had other plans.

With one hand clamped over her mouth, she hastily tumbled out of bed and rushed into the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before she fell down to her knees and threw up.

Hanging over the toilet, she retched miserably until she was sure her stomach was empty and haltingly stood up.

As steadily as her wobbly legs allowed, she dragged herself to the sink, not wanting to be confronted with her reflection, but forced herself to look anyway.

The girl who stared back at her through bloodshot eyes looked nothing like herself anymore.  
She was hideous, looking as dead as Cheryl felt inside, her sheer appearance enough to make her stomach twist again in disgust.

_What happened to you?_

Her eyes were hollow, vacant, her whole face red and puffy from crying and her blank expression deprived of every sign of life or emotion.

_Pathetic._

Trails of tears covered her puffy, reddened cheeks, passed by her pale lips, over her scraggy cheekbones and disappeared under the collar of her pajama.

_Weak._

She hated this.  
She hated what had happened to her.  
She hated what Nick had made out of her.  
But above all, she hated herself.

She couldn't stand the sight of herself in the mirror, couldn't bear being confronted with the reflection of someone she didn't want to be.

For Cheryl, her face was like a graphic documentation of the shitshow her life had become.  
Every stroke of fate, every sleepless night, every nightmare, every ounce of sorrow was painfully well solidified into the lifeless features of her face.  
The sunken, bony cheeks, the dark circles around her eyes, the pallid skin, they were all witnesses of the torture she been through, cruelly reminding her every day of her painful past.

And now, after last night, the sight of this empty shell of a girl that once was so full of life and joy became even more excruciating, leaving Cheryl wondering how much longer she could endure this.

  
Before she could stop it, her fist suddenly struck out, aiming for the hideous reflection with all its power, the detested girl in the mirror bursting into a myriad of shards under a loud shatter, when her fist hit the glass.

A stifled whimper escaped her mouth, when she felt the pain shooting through her hand and she felt the tears stinging in her eyes again.

She slumped down, letting her her weight rest on the sink as she examined the damage.

The mirror was broken, it shards scattered in the sink and on the ground, her distorted reflection staring defiantly back at her through the last remnants of glass on the wall.  
Her fist was bleeding, small pieces of broken glass sticking out of the flesh of her knuckles, but she couldn't bring herself to care, didn't even acknowledge the pain and the blood dripping down her fingers.

She deserved this, after all.

There was only one way to make this bearable.  
One thing what would keep her sane. And alive.  
It might not be the healthiest option to cope, but it was the only that had proven itself over the years.

Ignoring the voice of reason in her head, she took in a sharp, controlled breath, hoping it would somehow recompose her before she cleaned herself up, impatiently ridding herself of the blood, vomit and tears.  
After she watched the tokens of her shame wash down the drain, she reached into the small drawer under the sink, fumbling for the inconspicuous Paracetamol package that had become one of her secret stashes ever since Toni moved in. She pulled out a Vicodin and popped it into her mouth, the feeling of the pill slipping down her throat enough to calm her nerves.

Waiting for the pill to take its full effect, she impatiently drummed her fingers on the sink before she opened the package again.

 _Fuck it.  
_She might as well indulge herself and go the whole hog.

With one swift motion she fished out a Diazepam and swallowed it right behind, before she had the chance to contemplate whether it was a good idea to mix Opiods and Benzos – a mixture she hadn't tried out yet.

A sudden but hesitant knock on the door pulled her out of her thoughts, causing her to jump and let the pills drop to the ground.

"Cheryl?" Toni's sleepy voice came through the door.  
"Is everything okay?" Judging by the sound of her drowsy voice, the girl was barely awake.

Cheryl instantly felt caught red-handed and hastened to cover up her tracks, hurriedly picking up the pills off the ground.

"I'm fine," she croaked, wiping her cheeks. "I was feeling a little nauseous, but I'm better now."

"Are you sure?" Toni suppressed a yawn.  
"I heard something break."

"Yeah, uhm," she awkwardly cleared her throat, "I accidentally knocked over my glass. No biggie."

"Cher-"

"Toni," she cut her off. "I said I'm fine. No need to worry. Just go back to bed, I'll be out in a minute."

"Mhh- 'kay," came Toni's mumbled reply.

Cheryl let out a relieved sigh when she heard her footsteps depart and Toni make herself comfortable in the bed again.

_Thank God._

After a few minutes of waiting for her to fall asleep again and for the pills to take its effects, Cheryl started cleaning up the mess she made, but quickly dismissed her half-hearted attempt again when she felt her own fatigue prevail.

By now fairly sedated, the pain numbed to a bearable minimum, she tentatively stepped outside and staggered back to her bed following the direction of Toni's slow breathing.

She paused in front of the bed for a second, the scarce moon light shining through the window on Toni's silhouette as she lay curled up in Cheryl's bed, put a small smile on her face.

She was feeling a lot better already.

With her eyes still locked on Toni, Cheryl slipped under the blanket and scooted closer to the girl who had saved her, not once but twice already, from a horrible scenario.

After a few seconds of her eyes adjusting to the darkness, Cheryl could make out the outlines of Toni's shape under their shared blanket and took in the features of her face. She was laying on her side, eyes closed and turned to Cheryl as her chest slowly rose and fell with every breath.

The peace and calmness, Toni seemed to constantly radiate, passed on to Cheryl, a sigh escaping her lips as she wondered about the strange effect the Serpent had on her without even doing anything.

Her sheer presence was enough to calm her down within a matter of seconds.  
Okay, maybe that was owed to the drugs. Or probably both.

One way or another, Cheryl found herself enraptured by Toni's aura and before she knew it, she was scooting closer and closer to Toni, as if the other girl was a Siren pulling her in.

The reasonable part of her told her to cut it and wondered what has gotten into her, but the other stronger part continued scooting dangerously close to the other girl until Cheryl found herself in her personal space, eyes locked on the other girl's face, with no intention of receding.

All she knew was that she craved Toni's warmth, wanted to – no, _needed_ to - touch her, feel her skin on hers, assuring her that she **really** was here and not another cruel trick of her imagination.

Her arm ever so slowly stretched out, her fingers lightly grazing Toni's forearm, when suddenly the other girl stirred under her touch, causing Cheryl to immediately retreat her hand with a gasp.

Eyes still closed, Toni mumbled something in her sleep, lazily stretched out her arm, put it around Cheryl's shoulder and pulled her closer to her chest.

Cheryl's eyes widened involuntarily and she could swear her heart skipped a few beats, when she realized what was happening.

Toni held her in a tender embrace now, her left arm laying comfortably over Cheryl's shoulders, her head resting on the ginger's as the latter was on par with Toni's neck, her lips _dangerously_ close to delicate tanned skin as she felt her body freeze under Toni's touch.

She didn't dare to move or breathe for a moment, afraid the movement might wake the girl up and the moment to end.  
And she would not let that happen.

But this felt way too good to _not_ do something.

So hesitantly at first, she reciprocated the hug and allowed herself to relax into Toni's arms as she cautiously nestled into the crook of Toni's neck, a wide smile spreading on her face as the sweet scent found its way into her nose.

She realized she had never been this close to her so far (or anyone for that matter), both physically and emotionally and wanted to make sure to fully savour the moment, trying to bottle the feeling of security and comfort Toni provided.

_This was so much better than Vicodin._

She tried to focus on Toni's slow breaths and the steady rhythm of her heartbeat as her own went berserk in her chest. She didn't quite know what it was she felt - after Jason's death and Heather she doubted she was still capable of such feelings - but this.. this was something else.  
This felt.. right.

  
  


Somehow Toni made her feel a secureness she had never experienced before. She made her feel like she mattered. Loved even.  
In the dark, stormy sea that was Cheryl's life, Toni was a bright contrast.  
She was stability. safeness. A lighthouse that guided Cheryl to a safe haven.

With a smile she didn't bother to hide now, Cheryl allowed herself to snuggle even closer to her roommate, inhaling her scent one last time as she peacefully drifted off to sleep, the dreadful memories that plagued her earlier now replaced with the comforting feeling to Toni's arms securely wrapped around her.

 

 

Maybe, just _maybe_ , she wasn't completely dead inside.

Maybe she wasn't as broken and hopeless as she thought she was.

Eventually, she could heal, feel love again.

And maybe someone could help her heal.

Maybe someday someone would pick up the shambles that was her heart and piece it back together.  
  


And maybe, _just maybe_ , that someone was holding her in her arms just now.

  
  


  
  


  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cheryl really is an unstable mess lol.
> 
> I'm sorry this chapter is a little shorter than usual, but the things that are about to follow deserve an own chapter (wink, wink ;) )

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this, you guys.  
> Please let me know what you think and how you want the story to continue ((:  
> AND: since i'm not a native speaker and this is one of my first fics, i still struggle a bit with grammar and punctuation and that stuff, so please, please feel free to correct or criticize me or make suggestions idk, everything is appreciated, but please be gentle and lenient.  
> Thank you guys xx


End file.
